Only You
by vampirediva07
Summary: The sequel to "The Start of Something New". Everything began one year later and continued on...
1. Bliss

**A/N: Thank you guys SO much for all the reviews of "The Start of Something New". If this is the first time you're reading, this is actually the sequel to that first story...so please read the other one first! If you're one of my previous reviewers, here is the first chapter of the much awaited sequel. I own nothing for Bones, although I wish I did!**

* * *

Looking at Booth's face, she searched for a response from him for a moment. There was a general look of shock for a moment before a broad smile covered his face.

"You…are pregnant?" he asked excitedly in a hushed voice so not to wake Parker, who was sleeping in the other room.

She nodded. "Eight weeks and three days, according to the doctor," she replied. "Meaning the night Angela delivered Bren was the night we conceived."

"A beautiful baby boy could be inside you," he said, grinning and pulling her in for a kiss.

"Or girl," she added, pulling back from the kiss with a smile. "Are you happy?"

Booth nodded and kissed her again softly. "Very happy Bones," he said. "I have been thinking about having a baby with you since you first asked me two years ago to be a sperm donor."

"There is not another person I would want to have a child with than you, Booth," she replied, leaning into his side. "I know that I like this option much better than artificial insemination."

Brennan thought about when she had considered that to have a child and knew that this was much better. Booth had always wanted to be involved and she wanted him to be now that they were together. They would be a family. Even if Brennan had her own reservations about families, she knew that Booth would never leave her or their child. That comforted her qualms enough to allow her to be joyful about the situation they were now in together.

"I do too," he said, kissing her temple. "When is the baby due?"

"July fifteenth, but that date could fluctuate when we have our next ultrasound," she said. "But July for sure."

Booth smiled. "A summer baby. I like the sound of that."

Temperance smiled and nodded in agreement. As she settled into his side, she thought of how perfect a gift this had been for both of them to find out about for Christmas. Finding out that she was pregnant put everything into perspective for her and showed her how lucky she was, if she even believed in luck. She had Booth, a successful career, good friends, her father and brother, Parker, and now a new life coming into the world.

* * *

Brennan shot up from her pillow, opening her eyes wide and placing her hands on the bed to make sure she was firmly planted. She had woken from one of those falling dreams where you hit the ground right as you woke up, so her sense of orientation was a little hazy, but she soon realized that she was safe at home, in her own bed, with her partner sleeping next to her. He was snoring slightly, but she never minded that much as it was sort of comforting in a way to her. Sighing, she laid back down on her side, facing Booth as he slept. It was the middle of January, so she was more than perfectly content staying in bed, especially since it was Saturday. Sliding her hand down to her abdomen, she felt the small, but defined bump there that was growing. She was just over twelve weeks pregnant now.

Her child. Booth's child.

After telling him she was pregnant on Christmas, they vacationed in Hawaii for two whole weeks alone. It was probably the best two weeks she had ever had on a vacation as they laid on the beach together, slept in hammocks, and walked along the shore almost every night talking about everything. He was excited about having another child and the opportunity to be involved this time since Rebecca had shut him out before Parker was born. Brennan knew that she wanted him there with her through her whole pregnancy and was excited to spend that time preparing for their child. During their vacation, her morning sickness was minimal, which was nice since she wanted to spend the time relaxing and not throwing up. Booth had taken care of her while they were in Hawaii as well, making sure she was eating enough and that she didn't overdo anything.

As she laid there, she thought about the reactions they got at the lab when they revealed the pregnancy two weeks earlier. Angela had been ecstatic for them, which Brennan fully expected from her best friend. There had been a lot of squealing involved that she had covered her ears for and laughed about. Cam had been excited as well, mentioning that the lab seemingly was multiplying every year, starting with the adoption of Michelle, the birth of Bren, and now the birth of Booth and Brennan's child. Brennan couldn't argue since it was true that everyone was beginning to settle down. Even Daisy and Sweets had married in October of the previous year, just after Bren was born. Everyone was more than ready to see Brennan have a child, since she had talked about it over two years previously.

Booth stirred after a few minutes, causing her to smile as he opened his eyes and looked at her. "Morning," he said groggily, but smiling at her.

"Good morning," she replied, moving closer to him on her pillow.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, brushing back her hair and kissing her.

"I'm doing just fine," she answered honestly. Her morning sickness had diminished greatly over the past few days, which was a relief even though hers was never really that bad. Thankfully, hers was never as bad as Angela's had been during her pregnancy.

"No morning sickness?" he inquired, looking at her.

She shook her head. "None at all this morning," she replied, smiling as she placed her hand on his side. The feeling of his bare skin under her hand was familiar and relaxing as she scooted closer to him.

Rolling over, she faced her back to him and pressed against his chest and stomach as his arm wrapped around her waist with his hand resting protectively over her stomach. His alpha male tendencies to protect were endearing and made Brennan appreciate her partner all the more. Part of her was excited to see how this progressed as the pregnancy progressed over the next few months.

"What do you want to do today?" he asked, kissing the back of her neck after moving her hair aside.

"Hodgins and Angela invited us to lunch this afternoon," she said. "They wanted to try that new Deli near the Jeffersonian since Angela is still nursing and can't really eat a lot of spicy foods, like Thai. And our baby doesn't seem to like spicy foods either."

Brennan was not excited about giving up Thai food for the duration of her pregnancy or when she nursed their child, but it was better in the long run for everyone's health. It would be something she missed sharing with Booth since that was a staple of their late night conversations together. However, she knew that they would find something else to fill that. Being pregnant was a lot different than she expected it to be, including her hormonal swings that seemed to happen when she least expected them to happen.

"Lunch would be fine with me, if you're up to going," he said. "If not, we can definitely stay in bed too." His voice was lower and more seductive, making Brennan smile involuntarily.

"Or we can always go to lunch and come back after for sexual activity," she suggested, turning her head toward him with an impish grin that she only used for him.

He smirked. "Are you feeling up for that?" he asked, arching his eyebrow. They had not had sex in almost two weeks because of her morning sickness and general exhaustion induced by the symptoms of early pregnancy.

Rolling over again, she pinned his body flat against the bed and kissed him. There wasn't a doubt in her mind that she was feeling much better than she had been in recent days.

"I take that as a yes," he said, grinning back and kissing her once more.

"Most definitely a yes," she replied, looking at his gorgeous brown eyes that could easily be the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen on a human.

Her hands traced up his bare chest, feeling the tight muscles of his abs and chest around to his pectorals as she moved closer to him. She had never wanted him so badly before and attributed that to her increased libido from the pregnancy hormones and the fact that she was no longer getting sick every morning. However, she wasn't going to argue with it. Her body wanted what it wanted. And that was Booth. She kissed his jaw and found his lips once more as she pressed her torso to his. His hands wandered under her silk night gown, pushing it up to expose her bare skin underneath before they rolled over and her back hit the mattress. Reaching down, she pulled up the nightgown and pulled it off, leaving her in her bra and panties.

Booth traced his hands down her sensitive skin from the top of her side down her curves to her hips. Her hands rested on the back of his neck as he leaned in and kissed her. As his lips left hers and kissed the side of her neck, she let out a small giggle. Only Booth had this effect on her. No one else had ever made her this happy before him and she knew that no one else ever would. His lips traced down her neck to the top of her chest downward, stopping at her stomach, kissing the small bump that was forming there before his hands slipped under her panties and pulled them down. She gasped slightly at the feel of his hands on her thighs and moaned happily as he returned to her lips.

Her hands moved down to the waistband of his boxers, pushing at them. She managed to push them off most of the way before he kicked them off completely. A whimper escaped her throat as she wanted him and could feel his erection nudging her thigh. She needed him right then and there. Her hips moved on their own accord against him, telling him that she was ready and that she wanted him. With a slow and antagonizing thrust, Booth buried himself deep inside of her, causing her to moan and kiss his neck. She loved the feeling of him inside of her. It was a comfort and pleasure at the same time that she had only dreamed about before they were together, when she had been in denial about ever feeling something for him.

Their rhythm was slow and gentle, careful of both her and the baby. Even though she knew that sex was perfectly safe for herself and their unborn child, she wasn't complaining about the pace at all. It was nice to slow things down, especially since this was the first time in two weeks and the first time she had felt up to it. With each stroke, she felt closer to him and closer to that edge she knew she could fall off at any time.

When they were both spent, Brennan laid her head on Booth's chest as he rolled off of her. She was lightly sweating, but she was content with the world. Looking up at him, she rested her chin on his chest and smiled at him.

"I think we missed lunch," she said, grinning at him mischievously. Even though she honestly felt bad for missing lunch with Angela and Hodgins, she knew her best friend would forgive her if she knew what had happened. Angela was one of those women that could easily forgive if she knew that sex was involved in her best friend missing a lunch date.

"That's okay Bones," he said, wrapping his arm around her. "I think missing something every once in a while is okay."

Nodding, she laid her head back down on his chest and sighed happily. She had Booth, she had her career, and she had their unborn child. Everything was right in her world. Even if she was uncertain about what would happen in the future, that would be a worry for later. Right now, she wasn't going anywhere.


	2. Change

Angela woke to the sound of Bren's shrill cries coming from the nursery through the baby monitor. Looking at the clock, it was just after six in the morning. She felt the bed stir next to her and her husband's lips touching her cheek in a gentle, but reassuring kiss. A smile spread across her face as he whispered in her ear.

"I'll go get her and bring her in here. You stay put."

Hodgins got out of the bed, leaving Angela to sit up slowly and get comfortable for a moment. Bren was over three months old now and pretty much the center of her and Hodgins' lives. Her birth was probably one of the happiest moments of Angela's life and hearing that shrill cry in the operating room was like music to her ears after a terrifying pregnancy and a delivery that came five weeks sooner than planned by C-Section. But now she was healthy, happy, and thriving, which was the best news any new mother could ask for. Angela was so in love with her husband and their daughter that she couldn't really ask for anything else in her life. Everything she had was perfect.

When Hodgins returned to the bedroom with Bren in his arms, she heard her daughter's cries and knew that she was definitely hungry. Unbuttoning her nightshirt, she exposed one of her breasts and began to nurse their daughter, who greedily began to suckle. Her cries were silenced to whimpers before stopping altogether once Bren realized that she was being fed and taken care of. Angela stroked her daughter's cheek and looked to her husband.

"She was definitely hungry this morning," she said, laughing a little. The little body against her stomach fit perfectly, like they were made for one another as mother and child. "I think she gets that after you."

Hodgins laughed. "Probably, but she gets her impatience from you," he countered easily and grinned.

Angela couldn't argue with that since it was partially true. If their daughter was anything like her, she was going to be one stubborn little girl before they knew it. She had always heard the saying that karma would bite you when you had kids, but never believed that until Bren was born. And now that her daughter was in the world, she was curious as to how much like herself Bren would be.

"I can't believe how big she's getting," she continued, looking back at their daughter as she continued to nurse.

"I know, it seems like yesterday that she could fit in my hand and now I blink and she's almost twice as big," he said, chuckling.

"Kids grow like weeds…you think they're done, but then they surprise you again." Angela giggled and shifted in their bed to get more comfortable while holding Bren in her arms.

They remained in bed for a while longer while Bren finished nursing, content to be a little family while they could still stay in bed. Once the baby was done, Angela handed her to Hodgins to burp while she got up and hopped in the shower. The water felt wonderful to her tired body as she washed her hair and scrubbed the gross feeling from her limbs and torso. After she was done, she wrapped her towel around her and stepped out, looking into the slightly fogged mirror at her figure. She had lost some of her baby weight, but still had some of it remaining. Her stretch marks weren't as visible as they were right after birth, so she was feeling better about that. Stepping into her closet, she picked out something to wear to work before quickly getting dressed and pulling her hair into a low bun for the day. Walking back into the bedroom, she relieved her husband of daddy duty so he could get ready while she got Bren dressed and ready for the day.

Disappearing into the nursery, she changed Bren's diaper and put fresh clothes on her daughter, dressing her in a warm little pink dress with a long-sleeved onesie underneath and white tights. She smoothed out what little hair Bren had before putting a little bow headband on that matched the dress. All the while, she hummed a little tune to her daughter and smiled.

"Mommy's good girl," she said softly, kissing Bren's cheek before picking her up and putting her in the bouncer so she could pack her diaper bag for the day. Angela put in some diapers, wipes, an extra outfit in case something happened, as well as Bren's blankets, pacifier, and a few other things she might need. Once that was packed, she went over and picked up her little one, cradling her and grabbed the diaper bag before walking down to the kitchen. Opening the fridge, she got out her breakfast she'd packed the night before to take to work with her. Having a baby made her become a lot more organized and prepared for things, but she was still the same good time Angela she'd always been. Just a little more responsible.

Hodgins came downstairs and asked if they were ready to go. Angela nodded and walked out to their car, loading Bren into her car-seat first before putting it on the base in the car and getting in on the passenger side. The drive to work was shorter than usual, but traffic wasn't all that bad this morning for some reason. When they arrived, Angela kissed her husband before going to her office to set Bren up for the day. The little one had passed out in the car-seat on the drive over, so Angela gently transferred her to the playpen and wrapped a blanket around her legs so she wouldn't get too cold. She smiled at her sleeping daughter, wondering how she was so blessed to have a beautiful child when she thought she would never really have children. Bren was healthy and happy, which was all Angela ever asked for as a mother.

Sitting at her desk, she started sketching the newest facial reconstruction she was assigned from the murder victim they were working on. After finding her own mother's remains in the Jeffersonian, she had a lot more respect for the victims they worked with and their families. She had once been told that her job was to give the victims back their humanity, which she believed now more than ever before. She gave them a face and their identity back when it had been brutally and forcefully taken from them. As she sketched the victim, she heard a knock at the door and looked up to see Brennan standing there.

"Hey sweetie," she said, smiling at her best friend. "How are you feeling?"

"I feel fine," Brennan replied, smiling as she walked in Angela's office. "I had a doctor's appointment this morning. The doctor said that the baby is healthy and developing right on target."

Angela smiled brightly. "That's wonderful news!" she said excitedly. "Did Booth go with you?"

Brennan nodded. "He always goes with me to the appointments. I would tell him that it wasn't necessary all the time, but I don't want to take that away from him the way Rebecca did," she said.

"Well, Hodgins really liked being at the appointments when I was pregnant with Bren," she added. "It made it easier for him to connect with the baby when he saw her on the ultrasounds." Angela liked having her husband there with her during the ultrasounds because it made her feel like they were already a little family. She knew it was different for Brennan entirely, but they were going to be a family regardless.

"Admittedly, it is nice to have him there," Brennan finally confessed after a minute. "He is very excited when we see the baby on the screen."

"I bet he was. The last time he had anything like that was before Parker was born, but since his ex didn't let him get close, this is like he is a first time daddy. Everything is new and exciting to him."

There was a sly smile across Brennan's lips and Angela could tell that this was making her a lot happier than she let people on about. Her best friend was one of those people that kept most of her emotions to herself, even if she was exuberantly happy about what was happening to her. Angela also knew that this would probably change as the pregnancy progressed and her hormones took hold of her. It would be interesting to see an emotional Brennan that no one was used to, but she was only about fourteen weeks along. There would be a lot more change in the future, but Angela was going to let Brennan experience that on her own. Every new mother was different and pregnancy effected everyone differently.

"Booth is excited to learn the gender of the baby in a few weeks," Brennan continued, sitting down on the couch in Angela's office. "We won't be able to determine that until around twenty weeks gestation."

"Oh, I know sweetie," she replied, putting her sketch aside to go over and pick up Bren who was waking up from her morning nap before sitting next to her friend. "I was about as impatient as he seems to be when I was pregnant with Bren and so was Hodgins. The day they told us we were having a girl…I think he almost fainted."

A laugh escaped Brennan's lips as she reached over and gently stroked Bren's hand with her fingers. Seeing Brennan be so loving and caring was something that Angela had always knew about her best friend. Temperance Brennan was a deeply caring person, but she kept that part of herself hidden from most people. However, Angela was one of the privileged few that saw that side of her.

"She's grown so much over the last few weeks," Brennan said, looking at the baby in Angela's arms.

"Oh, I know," she said, sighing happily. "She was so tiny when she was born, but they grow so fast." Angela paused for a moment and thought about how different things were from two years previous when everyone was leaving to go across the world. She had Hodgins were now parents, Booth and Brennan were together and having a baby, yet everything seemed how it should be. "Now you and Booth are having a kid. It's hard to believe how much everything has changed."

"Change is inevitable Ange," Brennan said, looking up. "But the change is sometimes for the good."

"That is probably the most unscientific thing I've heard you say in a long time," she said, smiling.

"Is that a bad thing?" Brennan asked, looking somewhat confused.

"Not at all." Angela looked down at Bren, who was wide awake and looking around the room. Her big blue eyes were curious and happy, which was her nature to begin with. Bren was a lot like her father in that way, curious about everything in the world. But she also had her happy-go-lucky nature, which made Angela both proud and somewhat scared for what the future would hold once Bren got older and wanted to assert her independence. As Bren looked around and sucked on her hands, Angela continued talking with Brennan about the pregnancy and the current case they were working on, as well as the dinner Angela was planning to have at her place for herself, Hodgins, Booth, and Brennan.

After a while, Bren became fussy and wanted to be fed, so Brennan excused herself so Angela could nurse in peace. Grabbing a blanket, Angela situated herself and began to nurse her daughter, gently rocking back and forth while humming a soft tune. Motherhood had definitely changed her in many ways, but they were all good ways that she wouldn't ever take back. Bren was her little angel.

"You know…your Auntie Brennan is probably one of the sweetest women in the world," she said softly to her daughter. "You just have to get passed that outer shell she keeps up to protect herself from the rest of the world. But I'm pretty sure that you are already passed that before you were even born."

She smiled and continued to rock Bren as she nursed happily. Things had changed for the better and she was more than certain of that. No one knew what the future would hold, but for now Angela was just content with the present.

**

* * *

A/N: Thank you sooo much for all the reviews/alerts I've gotten so far! If you like this, please let me know and spread the word to your friends to read!**


	3. Loved

Booth walked into Bones' apartment, holding the bags of groceries that he had bought for her place. They were eighteen weeks into her pregnancy and her cravings were finally beginning to kick in, but he was more than happy to go out and get things for her that she needed or wanted. The pregnancy had come as a shock to him in the beginning, but it was a welcome surprise that he was excited about. He had always wanted more children after Parker was born, but his relationship with Rebecca had ended long before then and he had never found the right person until he met Temperance Brennan. He remembered how excited he was before Parker's birth, but this feeling was almost double since he was able to actually be involved in the pregnancy more than he had been with Parker. Rebecca had pushed him away during that time, but Bones allowed him to be there. Everything about it was different and felt like he was going through it for the first time as a new father altogether.

As he shut the door behind him and began to put the food away, he thought about how funny it had been when they told Parker that he was getting a little brother or sister by the end of summer. The look on his son's face was priceless and he would never forget that. Parker had been asking for a sibling for years and was finally getting one. Even though he would be almost eleven years older, Booth knew that his son would be a great big brother to the new baby, protective and loving just like he had been with his own brother Jared. Parker was a great kid and Booth was more than thankful to have him for a son.

After the food was put away, he looked around to find Bones. He called out for her but didn't hear anything, so he went into the living room and back to the bedroom. Bones was curled up on the bed on her side, making him smile. She had been a lot more tired lately because of the pregnancy and the case they were working on, which was a woman in her mid-thirties that disappeared from a convenient store almost a year previously. They weren't getting very far into the case, which was frustrating to Bones, but she had been forced to take it easier per his orders. Even though it didn't make her very happy, she was listening to him and resting more for the baby's sake. Walking in quietly, he watched from the doorframe for a few minutes at her resting figure. This woman was the only one who had ever made him so frustrated, but so in love at the same time. They were so opposite, but it worked for some reason that no one else could understand.

Seeing her stir after a few minutes, he walked over to the bed and slipped in on the other side. He moved close to her and wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her back to his stomach and chest. Her head turned toward him and gave him a kiss, which he eagerly returned with a smile.

"How long have you been here?" she asked softly.

"Just a few minutes," he replied. "I put away the food I got earlier and saw you sleeping in here."

"Oh, thank you for getting that stuff," she said. "I would have gotten it myself, but I was just exhausted. My hormones are very imbalanced right now, making me sleep a lot more."

Leaning over, he kissed her cheek. "I know Bones," he said softly. "But I'm glad that you were able to get some sleep."

After a moment, she rolled over to face him and adjusted the throw blanket she had been using. He saw she was wearing just a t-shirt and shorts. However, it was one of his t-shirts instead of her own, since none of hers fit anymore. Her baby bump was small, but defined under the shirt so he could see it. Their child, created out of love, was in there. He was so amazed by that fact that he didn't ever think that he would be able to give her enough credit for the miracle she was bringing into the world.

"Hi," he said quietly, smiling at her.

"Hello," she replied. Her hair was slightly messy and she had no makeup on, but she was still the most stunningly gorgeous woman he had ever seen in his life.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"My breasts are sore and my back is a little discomforted," she said, pausing after a moment, realizing that Booth did not want to really hear that first thing. "I'm doing better than this morning," she murmured softly, smiling at him. "I just needed some rest is all."

"I told you," he said, grinning unabashedly. He had been telling her over the past few weeks she needed to rest more and she hadn't believed him until now. Temperance was a stubborn woman, but he loved her all the more for it.

Reaching under the blanket, he placed his hand tentatively on the side of her stomach. Bones had been somewhat touchy about people touching her stomach, even though she wasn't showing all that much yet. Instead of shying away, she moved closer to him and placed her hand on top of his. He smiled and kissed her forehead gently. After a few moments like this, he felt a slight movement under his hand. It was barely noticeable but he waited for another moment and felt it again. Shocked, he looked into Temperance's eyes with a wide smile.

"Was that…?" he trailed off.

Bones looked at him and nodded with a smile on her face. "It was," she replied, smiling. "I am fairly certain I started feeling movement around sixteen weeks, but that was the strongest one I have felt."

"I'm guessing you're going to be feeling a lot more of that…since this is my kid," he added, chuckling.

"Well you are very athletic and I'm in excellent shape, so our child is bound to have good genetics for athleticism," she said.

Booth leaned in and kissed her, beaming with pride like a little kid on Christmas morning. Their baby was really alive and he had felt it moving. This was an experience he had not shared with Rebecca before Parker was born, so he was thankful to have it now with his second child. In a lot of ways, this felt more right than he had ever felt with Rebecca, even when they were together.

When he pulled back, he saw the smile on her face that mirrored his own. She was truly excited about this baby coming, even if she didn't show it to almost anyone else but him. That was enough for him. It was all he needed to know. They were happy together. Booth hadn't thought this was possible, after the way she rejected him before he left for Afghanistan. But here they were, almost two years later and expecting a baby together after starting a real relationship. He wanted nothing more than to give her the world.

"I think we should move in together," she said, her voice sure and steady as she looked him in the eyes.

"What?" he asked, almost choking on his words. The last thing he expected was for her to ask him to move in or to move in together.

"I think that it would be a good idea if we lived together, seeing that we are going to have a child in a few months. It's practical and would help since you are over here all the time anyways," she replied.

"Bones, you have a one bedroom apartment…there is not enough room for both of us and the baby," he said. He thought about the practical side of that, knowing that they would need a nursery and enough room for his stuff and hers combined. Her one bedroom apartment wasn't going to cut it for any of that. And neither was his.

"I know," she said, moving her hand to the side of his face. "Which is why we should look for a house. There is more room, for one. And it would give us a place to raise our child _and _Parker, when he is over at the house."

Booth smiled. He liked the sound of _our_ child as it came from Bones' mouth. It reiterated the idea that they were in this _together _and not separate, like she had originally wanted to be when she asked him to donate his sperm over two years previously. He had known from the beginning that he would never be able to not be involved in his child's life, especially if it was Bones' child as well. Booth was not the kind of man that could just create a life and leave it to someone else to raise when he was right there. He had always known that from the moment Rebecca had gotten pregnant with Parker over ten years previously.

"Okay, we can look for a house together," he said, knowing that she would probably insist on paying for most of it since she made more money than he did. That was a potential argument in and of itself waiting to happen, but he was not going to let that ruin this moment for them.

She smiled softly and nodded, closing her eyes. "I was thinking about names for the baby earlier," she said after a few moments of silence. "Just a few on the preliminary list."

"What did you come up with?" he asked, honestly curious as to what Bones would have come up with on a list of baby names.

She opened her eyes and looked at him, thinking for a moment as she was most likely gathering her thoughts. She always had that same look when she was thinking. It was one of the things he loved and adored about her most.

"For a male, I think the names Henry, Michael, and Joseph are good and all go with your last name," she replied.

"We're giving the baby my last name?" he asked, eyes widening a little in shock. They had not really talked about what last name the baby would have or if it would be hyphenated or not.

Bones nodded. "I want the baby to have your last name. You are the father and this baby is just as much yours as it is mine genetically," she said, giving him a smile that could make the strongest man go weak in the knees.

"And names for a girl?" he asked, sitting up slightly on the bed.

"I want her middle name to be Christine, after my mother," she said softly. "As for first names, I've come up with Olivia, Breanne, and Elizabeth…although the second was definitely Angela's input."

Booth laughed and grinned, knowing that Bones would have gone to Angela for help with a names list since Angela was all about those sort of things. He was glad that Temperance had Angela as a best friend because she brought out all the good things in her that others didn't see or refused to see because of Temperance's intelligence. Other people were intimidated by such a woman, but he wasn't. He saw her for who she was, and that was a beautiful, loving woman who happened to be a brilliant forensic anthropologist and author.

"I like all those names, Bones," he said.

"There is still quite some time for us to decide and possibly widen the list to more possibilities," she added, propping her head up on her hand as she looked at him.

"Well, we can discuss them over the next few weeks too," he said, looking over at her with a smile.

He watched as she sat up, smirking at him before straddling his hips and placing her hands on his chest. His hand automatically went to her hips, pulling her close to him as their lips met. He felt her hands wrapping around his neck into his hair as they kissed. When they broke apart, he looked into her eyes and saw how happy she truly was. There were few times over the past few years that he had seen that look, but when it was there, it was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. There was nothing more amazing to him than the woman he was blessed to have in his life as his partner, lover, and the mother of their future child. As her lips met his again, Booth knew that he would protect her with his dying breath. She was his world. And that was worth fighting for.

**

* * *

A/N: Sorry for the fluffiness of this chapter, but I had to do it...it was too cute to pass up. Thank you soo much for all the reviews! Keep them coming and I'll keep on posting chapters! Thoughts on the names of the baby? You ready to know the sex of the baby?**


	4. Little Miracle

Brennan sat up in the bed, glancing at the clock in the dim light of the room. The digital numbers read five-fifteen, meaning she still had another hour of sleep before she and Booth would have to be up. Sliding back down onto her side, she moved closer to Booth, taking his hand and wrapping it around her waist before laying her head on the pillow to fall back asleep. She felt some slight kicking from the baby and smiled, placing her hand on the top of her stomach. Their child was healthy and the pregnancy was normal thus far, giving Brennan a peace of mind she had been wanting since finding out she was pregnant. After watching Angela go through her ordeal, she was hoping that her own pregnancy would be normal without any complications, although she kept those fears and qualms to herself for the most part. At twenty-one weeks, she was over half-way through her pregnancy and more than ready to meet the child that had been growing in her womb.

Drifting off to sleep, Brennan dreamed briefly of the child growing within her before the sharp beeping of the alarm sent her flying out of her dream and back into reality. Booth stirred in the bed next to her as she turned over and nudged him to wake him up. They both needed to be up and dressed by seven-thirty to leave for their doctor's appointment at eight-fifteen. Sliding out of the bed, she went into the bathroom and started her shower water, adjusting it to the temperature she wanted before shedding her sleep clothes and getting in. The warm water felt nice to her aching body as she washed her hair and found her loofah to scrub her skin with. Soap rolled over her body and stomach before falling to the shower floor. Everything was so different now that her body was changing and growing to adapt to carrying a child. Once she was finished, she shut off the water and stepped out, wrapping a towel around her body before walking into the bedroom to dress. Booth was finally up and getting dressed himself, having showered the night before. Walking over, she took out a pair of maternity jeans and a nicer top before getting her undergarments. She finished drying off before getting dressed while Booth went into the bathroom to brush his teeth.

After dressing, she went into the bathroom to blow dry her hair, waiting for Booth to finish at the sink. He tapped his toothbrush on the side a few times before putting it away and turning around, drawing her into a kiss.

"Good morning," she said after their kiss was broken, giving him a crooked smile.

"You sleep okay?" he asked. "I felt you move earlier and didn't know if you were awake or not."

"I slept just fine Booth," she replied. "I briefly woke to switch positions to get comfortable. That's all."

Booth nodded, agreeing with her explanation for waking in the middle of the night. She knew he worried a lot for her since she was carrying his child, but she didn't want to give him any more cause for worry because of waking up for something so simple as being kicked by the baby.

"Okay, I'll finish getting ready and we'll be on our way," he said, stepping aside to let her have the sink and the bathroom to finish.

"I should be done in about ten or fifteen minutes," she said as he walked out the door. She plugged in her hair dryer and proceeded to dry her hair straight, running the brush through it gently. Her hair was getting a lot thicker than she was used to, thanks to the hormones induced by her pregnancy. However, she was liking the new thickness since it gave her hair more volume. After she was done drying her hair, she applied some bare minimal makeup, just enough to lighten her face a little before stepping out and finding her shoes. Looking over at Booth, he was wearing a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved shirt, which made her smile to see him in something more simple than a three-piece suit.

"Ready?" he asked, glancing at her with a smile.

She nodded. "I've got everything and my bag is by the door, so I will grab it on our way out."

Booth acknowledged her statement before walking out of the room. She followed behind and into the living room before going out the door, grabbing her bag on the way out and locking the door to the apartment. Following Booth, she walked downstairs and out to the parking lot before getting in the SUV passenger seat. Even if she had wanted to drive, he wouldn't have let her because of the pregnancy. Brennan knew that she could've fought him on it, but today was just too happy a day to ruin it on some silly argument that they never could agree on. In the years since she'd known Booth, his alpha male tendencies were sometimes for the better of the situation or they completely made it annoying in the worst possible way. Either way, Brennan tolerated mostly for the sake of keeping the peace, unless she had to put her two cents in, but that was only in situations where it was called for.

Once they were in the car, they drove over to the doctor's office, talking mostly about their bets on the gender of the baby. Brennan could neither confirm nor deny her own intuition about the sex of their child, but she had a little inkling that told her to sway a little more in one direction than the other. However, she wasn't going to tell Booth that in case she was wrong. He, on the other hand, was very verbal about his prediction for the ultrasound. She laughed at him as they pulled into the parking lot and found an open space. Unbuckling her seat belt, she eased herself out of the car and started walking toward the entrance of the building, with Booth at her side. His hand was gently wrapped around her waist, holding her close to him, which she didn't mind at all. They were not in a professional setting, plus she liked the attention from him. They had been together for almost an entire year, so she was growing used to the idea that it was acceptable to show affection in public so long as it wasn't an obscene amount or at work. Her two conditions seemed to work rather well for them, so she wasn't going to complain.

When they entered the building and went into the appropriate office, Brennan checked in at the front desk before they took their seats in the waiting room. She picked up one of the available parenting magazines from the side table and proceeded to flip through it, picking out things she was definitely not going to do once their child was born. There were things she knew that she would not use to raise their child, like spanking since she and Booth had both been abused as children. Even though her abuse had been in the foster care system, it was still traumatizing enough to make her never want to terrorize her child in the same way. And she knew that Booth's experiences in his own childhood really made him the sort of father he was to Parker and she knew he would be to their own child.

After waiting for what seemed like an eternity, she and Booth were called back to an exam room. She got up onto the exam table and sat, waiting for the ultrasound technician to come in to do her routine ultrasound. Booth made a comment about a text message he had gotten from Hodgins about something in the particulates from the case they were working on, but Brennan only nodded. She would address that as soon as they were on their way to work. Right now was about her doctor's visit and making sure everything was going smoothly in her pregnancy. The technician came in a few minutes later and greeted them happily.

"Hi Dr. Brennan," she said, shutting the door behind her. This technician had worked with them before and knew them already, which made Brennan a little more comfortable than meeting someone new entirely. Most people knew that she was already socially awkward enough with people she had known for years, but new people just didn't understand her sometimes.

"Good morning Leanna," Brennan replied, smiling.

Leanna looked at the charts for a moment before getting things set up with the sonogram machine. "Looks like we're just doing a regular ultrasound this morning, so just lay back and pull your shirt up for me," she said sweetly.

Brennan did as instructed, pulling her maternity shirt up under her bra and pushing down the pants she had put on so her belly was exposed. The curve of her stomach was well defined now that she was over half-way into her pregnancy. She never admitted it, but being pregnant had really given her a perspective about life. It was precious. Leanna put the cold gel on her stomach before sliding the wand over her belly and starting the ultrasound. Brennan looked at the screen, wordlessly reaching for Booth's hand as he sat next to her in the chair by the exam table. The wand slid across her stomach until Leanna paused on the heartbeat, allowing it to fill the room. Silent tears welled up in Brennan's eyes as she watched the little beating heart of her child. It was probably the most beautiful thing she had ever heard, which was saying a lot from a Forensic Anthropologist that had traveled the world.

"There's the heart and here is the baby's face," Leanna said, moving the wand a little further up on Brennan's stomach. "The baby is sucking its thumb. Right there." She pointed to the baby's face on the screen where the little hand was right against the mouth.

"Would you look at that," Booth said, utterly amazed at what they were seeing on the screen. Brennan had known from the beginning that he was enthralled by their child. From the moment she had told him she was pregnant, he was thrilled and could not wait.

Leanna smiled and continued on with the exam, measuring the baby to make sure that it was growing on target and looking at the placement of the placenta and umbilical cord for anything unusual that would be cause for concern. As she moved the wand down, she paused and looked at Brennan.

"Would you guys like to know the sex of the baby?" she asked, glancing from Brennan to Booth and back again.

Brennan nodded and smiled. "Yes, we would," she replied, squeezing Booth's hand once.

"It's a girl," Leanna said, looking over at the screen and back to Brennan and Booth. "Everything looks great. I'll just print you guys some pictures of the ultrasound to take home and send your labs over to your doctor for your next visit later this week."

Brennan could hardly believe it. She was going to have a little girl in a few months; a daughter. Her intuition had been right, which also meant that Booth's had been wrong. Looking at him, she smiled as Leanna cleaned off her belly before stepping out of the room to give them privacy, explaining that the receptionist would set up their next appointment for them at the desk. Once she was gone, Brennan pulled up her pants and her shirt down before looking at Booth with a smile across her face. She couldn't help how happy she was in that moment as her hand rested on her stomach. Sitting up, she saw the smile on his face too.

"A little girl," he repeated, almost in awe. "We're going to have a beautiful little girl."

Brennan nodded. "Scientifically impossible that she wouldn't be with your genes and mine," she said, smiling brightly.

"Always thinking positively, Bones," he said, laughing as he leaned over and kissed her. She eagerly returned the kiss, placing one of her hands on his cheek.

After their kiss ended, he leaned down and kissed her belly once before placing his hand on the side where their daughter was kicking away. She seemed to be excited about hearing the voices outside of the womb. Booth's voice was one of the ones that she got the most excited about and Brennan had read that infants knew their parents' voices the most before birth so they recognized them easily after.

Booth helped her down from the exam table before she grabbed her bag and went to the receptionist's desk to make their next appointment. The receptionist handed her a card with the date on it, set for about four weeks later. Once all of that was taken care of, she and Booth walked out of the office to the car again before getting in. Brennan was excited to tell everyone they worked with that they were having a girl, especially Angela. For some strange reason, because of her pregnancy, bonding and relating to Angela was a lot easier than usual. Brennan deducted that it was because they shared the common thread of motherhood. In her mind, Anthropologically speaking, mothers in most societies usually bonded together if their children were born around the same time period. It made sense once she thought about it rationally.

The drive over to the Jeffersonian wasn't long at all, but Brennan was absorbed in her thoughts about having a daughter. She knew that there were things that she wanted to teach her daughter that her own mother had passed down to her before her disappearance. Little things about the stars and sharing a love of the ocean and dolphins with her own daughter. She looked forward to holding her daughter, feeling that little body against her own and knowing that she had created a life full of potential. Secretly, she hoped that her daughter would be more like Booth, social and outgoing. Brennan didn't want the life of loneliness she had suffered through high school inflicted on her own daughter. That was not something she wanted her daughter to go through, even though it had never really bothered her. Absentmindedly holding her stomach, she thought about how much she hoped her daughter had the loving and tender heart that Booth had, one that cared for people so much. She wanted her daughter to have every happiness in the world that she never had. Good friends, parents that were there for her and held no secrets, a stable home, and the ability to make friends easily. Her thoughts slowed when she realized that they were at the Jeffersonian.

"You ready to go in and tell them the news?" Booth asked, cutting the engine of the car.

Brennan smiled brightly. "I think that Angela will probably scream again, like she did when I told her I was pregnant," she said, laughing. "But yes, I am ready."

Booth laughed along with her about Angela. "Yes, but I think everyone will be excited to know that there will be another little girl coming into the world. A beautiful, intelligent, funny, and sweet little girl that will be a playmate for Bren."

"We can't know what she will be like before she's born Booth," she said, laughing.

Booth leaned over and kissed her cheek. "I'd be willing to bet she'll be a lot like her mom," he whispered.

A small shiver went up Brennan's spine as his soft words caressed her ear. "I do hope she has some of your personality traits," she said, looking into his eyes sincerely. "You honesty and sincerity. The way you care for people. I hope our daughter gets that from you."

"She will Bones," he reassured her. "She will because you have those traits too, even if you don't think you do."

Brennan looked at the man sitting next to her in the car, placing her hands on either side of his face and gently kissed his lips. Even though she hated public displays of affection right outside of their workplace, she was making an exception for now. Today was a special day for them, one that would forever be a part of her memory. They were going to be parents to a daughter. She was in love with her partner, who was not going to leave her ever again. That reassurance was giving her the strength to put her heart into something she had never believed in. That, along with their baby, was a miracle. A miracle she couldn't wait to meet in nineteen more weeks.

**

* * *

A/N: SURPRISE! :) I hope you're enjoying this story so far because I really have loved working on it. The drama is about to begin...are you ready? This chapter is dedicated to my twin, Leanna! We might not be blood twins, but we're twins of the spirit and I love her to pieces!**


	5. Girls' Day Out

Glancing down at her phone, Angela waited for Brennan in the car outside of her apartment. Even though her best friend and Booth were in the middle of moving into their new house, they were continuing to sleep at Brennan's apartment while the final construction additions to their house were being done. She was more than happy for them since she had hoped for years that they would be together since it was more than obvious to everyone that Booth and Brennan had something more than a partnership. They were together and just under two months away from meeting their firstborn child. Angela was a little more than enthusiastic about the baby being a girl since she had a daughter herself and that meant that Bren would have a playmate to grow up with. Since she and Brennan were close friends, she had a strong feeling that their daughters would be too since they would be growing up together and around each other all the time.

"Ma-ma!" Bren squealed from the backseat in her car-seat impatiently, kicking at the toy that was strung across the bar.

"What baby girl?" she cooed softly, leaning back and putting her finger in her daughter's hand. "You just want Mama's attention, huh? Well you know exactly how to make mommy pay attention to you."

At seven-months-old, Bren was a bright, happy-go-lucky baby. She was babbling a lot and giggling all the time, which Angela knew the baby had picked up from her. Bren continued to babble, using mostly one syllable at a time from the limited vocabulary she had so far, which consisted of "ma" and "da" a lot. The past few months had been blissfully happy for everyone, which was unusual in their line of work and lives in general. However, Angela wasn't going to complain about it since her life got turned upside down during her pregnancy. Peace was good. Peace was happy.

When Angela looked up and over, she saw Brennan opening the car door and grinned brightly.

"Hey sweetie," she greeted.

"Hey," Brennan greeted back with a reciprocate smile of her own. She set her bag in the floorboard of the car before putting her seatbelt gently around her expanded belly.

"How many weeks are you now?" Angela asked, laughing a little.

"Only twenty-nine weeks," Brennan replied in a matter of fact tone, like usual. Only she added a small smirk at the end, making Angela realize that she was a little more excited than she wanted people to know.

"Eleven more weeks and we'll meet this little angel growing inside of you," she said, smiling brightly as she put the car into gear and drove off from the apartment complex. "Are you and Booth ready for the baby?"

Brennan nodded. "We've been going to the birthing classes at the hospital as well as putting together the nursery at the new house and putting up all the gates, plug-guards, and making sure all toxic items are out of reach," she explained proudly, smiling.

"That's good," Angela encouraged. "But are you really _ready_ for the baby…emotionally? Physically?"

"You sound like Sweets," Brennan piped back, smirking for a moment. "Yes, we are. I am more than ready to reclaim my body as my own for one. And I know that Booth and I are ready to meet our daughter."

Angela smiled at Brennan, knowing that every new mom hit that stage right around thirty weeks where they were impatient to have the baby on one hand, but also anxious because they didn't know what was coming in the future. She remembered her own fear in the hospital because of her Placenta Previa. Early delivery was something every first time mom worried about most since the first baby usually was the smallest anyways. She hoped that Brennan and Booth would never have to experience the terror she and Hodgins had gone through with Bren before she was born. That was something she wished on no one because it was so terrifying not knowing if she would deliver extremely premature, if their baby would be okay, and if her own health would be fine after.

"Well, we all can't wait to meet her either," she agreed, getting onto the highway toward the mall. Bren started babbling away in the backseat, causing Angela to laugh. "Neither can Bren, apparently."

"Oh, all babies babble…it's part of their normal language development," Brennan offered, making Angela laugh even more.

"I know sweetie, I was just being facetious," she replied, still laughing as she drove. "Have you and Booth thought of any names for the baby?" Angela was curious to see what they would come up with given Brennan seemed to be the very traditional type while Booth was a little more relaxed, having a son named Parker.

"We actually have her name picked out…Parker suggested her first name, which Booth and I both really liked. And her middle name was chosen before we knew we were having a girl," Brennan replied, looking over at Angela with a proud smile.

"Are you going to tell me?" Angela asked, arching an eyebrow in Brennan's direction. It wasn't like her to be so secretive, so she knew that either Brennan's pregnancy hormones had temporarily hijacked her best friend or something was really changing inside of Brennan for the better.

Brennan shook her head in response. "Booth and I decided that we were going to keep her name a secret until she is born," she said indefinitely. "You and Hodgins didn't tell anyone until Bren was born, so we figured we could do the same and keep it a surprise."

"But you hate surprises Bren," Angela argued, slightly chuckling.

A laugh escaped Brennan's mouth as she turned to face Angela. "I know, but I'm not the one being surprised this time," she countered. "Booth and I promised we wouldn't reveal anything other than the baby's gender."

Angela sighed in defeat. "Okay, fine…you win," she conceded with a sarcastic glare before deciding to change the topic to something she could know. "Am I still coming over this Sunday to finish the mural on the nursery wall?"

"Yes, Booth and I will make sure all the furniture is moved to the opposite wall and cover the floor with plastic for you," Brennan replied, smiling.

"Good, I'm excited to finish the rest of it!" Angela said, giggling as she drove. When Brennan had agreed to let her paint the nursery mural, Angela had been ecstatic about it because this was going to be her goddaughter's space. Booth and Brennan had purchased dark wood furniture for the nursery and different shades of purple for their crib bedding, which fit in perfectly with her idea. She had painted an enchanted tree in the corner of the room that had branches coming out across the walls beside it. The tree had purple butterflies landing on it and flying around it as well as flowers, which were the last thing Angela needed to finish. The flowers were white lilies, which happened to fit perfectly with the scheme of everything.

"I think you will do a wonderful job with the rest of it," Brennan said as they drove further down the highway.

"I'm surprised you let me do it at all," Angela admitted sheepishly. "I mean, you're usually anti-anything cutesy for a baby since you think it's unnecessary."

Brennan laughed. "It _is_ unnecessary Ange," she said. "Babies don't see in color for the first few months, so painting a nursery a certain color is simply for the parents' gratification."

"And there is the answer I was looking for. I'll take Temperance Brennanisms for five hundred Alex," Angela replied, laughing as she took the next exit off the highway.

"I don't know what that means," Brennan said in her usual tone when she didn't understand some euphemism or pop-culture reference.

"Let's just say I saw that one coming Bren," she said, shaking her head as she pulled into the parking lot. They were at the mall to shop and pick out a few things for the new baby coming, as well as some stuff for little Bren since she was growing faster than a weed these days.

They shopped for a few hours, Angela making sure she wasn't wearing Brennan out too much by walking around. However, Brennan insisted that she was fine and that they could continue looking around. They got several outfits for Brennan's daughter, Angela doing most of the picking, insisting that as godmother she needed to look out for the baby's fashion sense while she could. Bren also got several new outfits as well, though she didn't see anything since she passed out about an hour into the shopping trip in her stroller. Angela knew that it was mid-afternoon naptime for Bren, so she would be perfectly fine just snoozing in her stroller while being pushed around. She was a hard sleeper, which she got from her father.

After shopping for a while, they decided to take a break and get something to eat. They drove over to a nicer restaurant that they both liked and ordered dinner while Angela gave Bren her bottle. Even though she was still nursing, she would pump some to take with her on trips like this where she wouldn't be able to nurse privately. After their order was taken, the waiter disappeared so that they could have privacy.

"So when are you and Booth officially moving into the house?" Angela asked, looking over at her friend.

"All of our things should be moved in by the end of next week," Brennan replied. "The moving process took a lot longer than expected because of the pregnancy and the fact that Booth wanted to move everything himself with Jared, Hodgins, Wendell, and Sweets' help. I told him that we could just hire someone, but he refused."

Angela shook her head and smiled. "Booth is a 'do-it-yourself' kind of man sweetie," she said. "He's been raised as a hard worker and likes to do things for himself. He takes pride in that."

"Oh I know," Brennan said back. "It's his alpha-male tendencies kicking in even more now that we're expecting a child. He feels as though he needs to protect me and our child, even if that's just by moving our things himself."

A grin crossed Angela's face as Brennan mentioned _their_ things when referring to moving in with Booth. She had come so far since returning from Maluku and that made Angela more than happy to see her friend living a good life with the man she loved.

"I'm pretty sure he's going to be a great daddy to your little girl," Angela said.

"I know he is already an excellent father to Parker, so I don't think that our daughter would be any different," Brennan replied.

"Little girls are different Bren," she said, rocking her own daughter back and forth in her arms. "They require a different set of skills than little boys do. You have to be gentle and tender with them."

"Booth will definitely be a good father to our daughter," Brennan said with a smile. "He is loving and attentive, as well as protective and loyal."

"I'm pretty sure no guy will come within a five hundred foot radius of your daughter…Booth is an FBI Agent and a daddy. No way in hell any guy will try anything knowing that," she laughed, knowing that it was true.

"I just hope he isn't too protective," Brennan said after a moment. "I want her to experience things I never did as a teenager."

"Well…since she and Bren will grow up together, I'm sure that my daughter will get your daughter in plenty of trouble," Angela retorted, laughing and looking down at Bren in her arms.

Brennan laughed and smiled as she took a drink of water. Angela grinned as they continued to talk for a while and into their dinner. She knew that Brennan and Booth were going to be great parents and that little Bren was going to have a friend for life once their baby was born. She loved knowing that they were going to have families together and that their little girls were going to grow up friends. Angela had always hoped for that, but now it was coming true.

**

* * *

A/N: So another chapter of a little fluff, but I promise it's about to get REALLY good. Like it? Leave me a review and let me know! I love all my reviewers/fans! Thank you guys all so much. **


	6. Come What May

Booth walked into the lab, dreading coming to work today. He had received the case file on his desk for the newest case he and Bones were assigned to and it was not one he particularly cared for. Then again, all cases involving children were not ones that Booth cared to work on, but now that he and Bones were expecting a baby together it made things even worse. He slid his card to walk up onto the forensic platform, where Bones was already examining the body. She wasn't wearing her usual lab coat, but that was understandable since her expanding abdomen no longer fit underneath it and she did not feel comfortable putting it on any longer. Just seven more weeks stood between them and meeting their daughter for the first time, so he was a little more than antsy and uneasy working a case like this.

"What have we got?" he asked, stepping a little closer as Bones and Daisy were working with the remains while Angela was gathering her materials for a sketch and Hodgins was doing his thing with the particulates.

"The victim is male, around three-years-old, Caucasian," Bones replied, still looking down at the body on the table. The little body was almost nothing but bones and bits of flesh here and there, but otherwise mostly decomposed. It had been left in the middle of a landfill, so Booth could only imagine what had gotten to him before he was found.

"Any information on cause of death yet?" he asked.

"Preliminary examination points to strangling as the hyoid was cracked," Daisy piped up, looking at Booth while Bones continued looking at the skull. She had the look on her face that told him there was more. There was always more in cases like this.

Bones picked up the skull and looked inside, sighing deeply before checking the outside to match what she was seeing on the inside. "The stain on the inside of the skull and the fracture on the outside points to a subdural hematoma, which caused massive hemorrhaging…possibly caused by a blunt object hitting his head," Bones explained, keeping her eyes on the skull for a few moments before looking to Booth.

"So someone beat this little kid and then strangled him?" he asked, praying to God that he wasn't right.

"It's possible that the head injury could've occurred shortly after death, but I need to examine the remains further to know for sure," she replied, setting the skull down on the examination table.

"Do we have anything on identification yet?" he asked, moving on to something productive he could help with. All of the medical talk was for the squints, even though he'd been around them long enough to know what was bad and what was really bad in terms of cause of death.

"Not yet, but Angela is working on a facial reconstruction right now and we will put that into Missing Persons as soon as she finishes as well as send in dentals to see if there is anything there," Bones said.

Booth nodded in understanding before heading off the platform to let Bones keep on working, knowing she hated people hovering that weren't necessary to what she was doing. He walked into Cam's office where she was working at her computer, knocking as he came in.

"Hey Camille," he said, using her full name to get a rise out of her.

"Seeley," she shot right back, laughing.

"You got anything for me?" he asked, hoping there would have been something in her reports about the victim he could work with.

"The kid's tox screens just came back in," she said, clicking the mouse to open them up and look. "Looks like this little guy was heavily sedated right before he died. There is a large amount of Eszopiclone in his system…commonly used in a sleep drug called Lunesta. There is also Methylphenidate…used in Ritalin."

"Wait..Ritalin, as in the drug used for ADHD?" Booth asked, clarifying he was hearing what he thought he was.

"Yep, that's the one. Sounds like whoever killed him was trying to get him to calm down using drugs. When one didn't work, they popped in the other."

"So he was drugged, beaten, and strangled…people are sick." Booth shook his head and clenched his jaw. In his mind, those who killed or hurt kids were among the worst in the world. Even if the Bible taught that no sin was greater than another, Booth didn't see it that way. Kids were innocent. They never deserved to die or be punished for whatever reason people came up with.

"Don't let it get too personal Booth," Cam reminded him, pulling him back to reality after a moment. "Just because you and Dr. Brennan are having a child soon does not mean you can get too attached to this case. You need to distance yourself from it."

Booth nodded, knowing she was right. "I know Cam. It's just always been hard with cases like this…you know that."

"Well, don't let your judgment be clouded because of Dr. Brennan's pregnancy is all I'm saying," she replied gently. There was a few moments of silence as Booth nodded before Cam continued. "So, how is that going by the way?"

"It's good," he answered honestly, smiling as he opened his wallet and showed Cam the most recent sonogram photo of his daughter. "Doctor said everything is going great. The baby is perfect and Bones' health is good, so I'm happy."

"Everything is all moved into the house, I assume?"

"Yeah, we finished putting everything up about three weeks ago and Angela finished the final painting of the nursery," he said, smiling proudly. "We put together all the furniture and have been washing all the clothes as we get them. Bones is pretty insistent about everything being clean, so I don't object."

Cam laughed and nodded. "A lot of women get that way right before birth…I think it's called _nesting_ or something like that, so Dr. Brennan would be no exception to nature's rule."

"Well nature obviously never met Bones," he chuckled. "Her version of that is totally different than I've ever seen."

"We all react differently to things Seeley…it's a human thing. Has she had really bad mood swings yet?" Cam looked at Booth with a laugh written into her smile.

"Nothing too unbearable," he replied with a smirk. He knew that he had patience for only one woman and that was Temperance Brennan. "But there's still seven more weeks left to find out how bad it could get."

Cam laughed as Booth laughed himself. They both knew that it couldn't possibly be worse than it was now, unless Bones had a complete identity change or her hormones did all the talking for her. But he knew that she was far too rational to let that happen to her. He had faith that Bones would keep her head in situations where she felt out of control. For a few minutes, he and Cam discussed how long he and Bones would be on leave after the baby was born as well as a few other things non-related to the baby. Cam was one of his closest friends in the world, so they shared their lives with one another. He knew her daughter, Michelle, and the struggles she had raising a teenager who would soon be going off to college. After a while, Booth excused himself and decided to head back to the FBI Building after making sure that Angela and Hodgins could bring home Bones. He returned to his office to start some paperwork before putting it all away and heading home.

When he arrived, Bones had barely walked in the door herself and was in their bedroom upstairs changing into something more comfortable. He walked up and into the room, loosening his tie and loosing his jacket to change himself. Wearing three-piece suits everyday made him realize how comfortable a pair of jeans and a t-shirt actually were. He slipped his shirt off and found a t-shirt to put on before changing his pants to jeans. When he turned around, Bones was already in a pair of yoga pants and a t-shirt that showed off her growing belly. He smiled and walked over to kiss her before placing his hand on the side of her stomach in time to feel a kick from their daughter.

"Well hi to you too," he said, leaning down and kissing her stomach.

Booth could not wait to meet their daughter in a few weeks, but at the same time he was anxious about raising a little girl. He had only had Parker for the last ten years, so he'd never been around a little girl and didn't know what to expect. What he did know was that he would be chasing off teenage boys in about fifteen years that wanted to date his daughter because she would be every bit as beautiful as her mother. Raising back up, he smiled at Bones.

"You hungry?" he asked, knowing the answer to the question already.

She nodded and smiled. "Ravenous," she replied. "I ate a really early lunch today and forgot to bring a snack into work with me."

"I could've gotten you something," he said, looking at her. "All you had to do was ask."

"I know, but we were working and you know I hate interfering with work," she said, shrugging it off. "Besides, we are here now and can fix dinner."

Booth nodded. "But in the future, tell me these things so I can bring you something. I don't want you to pass out at work because you haven't eaten enough."

Looking back at him as they walked out of the bedroom, she nodded in agreement. "Okay, but only for the purpose of keeping the baby nourished," she compromised. "Otherwise it would be bringing personal and professional life too close together."

Booth expected that and nodded in agreement, not wanting to argue with her about it. There would be time for that later when she wasn't pregnant and hormonal. He wanted the hormones to not do the talking for her when he had that conversation. They went downstairs to their kitchen and Booth started to cook dinner while Bones gathered the dishes to set the table. Since she was craving Italian, Booth made spaghetti with marinara sauce and garlic bread, which was one of their favorites. Even though Booth was not a vegetarian, he wasn't opposed to a good Italian meal sans meat since it would make her happy and keep them all healthy.

When dinner was finished, they sat at the table and ate together, talking over some plans for the weekend since Parker would be there. Parker was excited about the arrival of his new baby sister and Booth couldn't wait to see his oldest in the role of a big brother. That was something he had been wanting to give his son since he was old enough to be a brother. Since he'd grown up with Jared under his wing, he knew that Parker would be a good big brother too. He had all the qualities Booth had known he had himself at that age including responsibility, maturity, and a good sense of humor, which he would need dealing with a baby sister over ten years his junior. Booth didn't know about little sisters, but he knew enough that they were trouble.

"Booth, did you remember to pick up the dry-cleaning on the way home?" Bones asked, bringing him out of his thoughts.

_Aw crap._ He knew he had forgotten something on the way home but couldn't remember what that was until now. "No Bones, I'm sorry…I totally forgot," he apologized, checking his watch to see if he still had time to go get it. It was after eight, which meant they were closed. "And they're closed by now."

"Damn it," she replied, completely frustrated. "That had my clothes for my meeting tomorrow and nothing else in my closet fits right or is clean! Booth, how could you forget?"

"Bones, it's okay…it's just clothes. You can find something in your closet that will look just fine," he said, keeping calm and level-headed.

"No, it's not just clothes Booth! It's about looking professional, which is _very_ difficult to do when you are thirty-three weeks pregnant and have nothing that fits right," she said, her voice highly irritated and annoyed. "You may not care about personal appearance, but I like to look professional!"

"I am sorry, I got caught up at work finishing some last minute details and it just slipped my mind."

"I work as well, but I don't let things slip my mind," she shot back.

Booth clenched his jaw, trying to remind himself that this was not his Bones talking. The pregnancy hormones were doing all her talking for her, but personal attacks were something he could not ignore. He took enough of those on a daily basis from crooks and murderers, so he didn't need that at home. Scooting back, he took his plate and went to the kitchen to wash up his dishes rather than spouting out something in anger at her that he would later regret. The dishes clanked loudly as he put them away, but he didn't care.

"Next time I'll just get it myself since you seem to forget quite often," she said, bringing her own dishes in to wash.

"Stop it," he said firmly, glaring at her in the eyes. "Right now Temperance. I will not be pushed over or made to feel incompetent because I forget _one_ thing."

Instead of fighting back, Bones simply put her dishes in the sink and quickly walked out of the living room and up the stairs to their bedroom. He heard the door shut and immediately felt awful for what he had done. Even though he had said nothing degrading to her, he knew that the tone of his voice was harsh and in her somewhat fragile emotional state, which he knew she was not used to at all, that had done her in.

Breathing deeply, he turned to the sink and washed the remaining dishes to help calm himself down and give her space for a little while. Once he was finished, he walked upstairs and slowly to their bedroom. Standing outside the door, he took a deep breath, no longer irritated at the situation and more understanding of her feelings. He opened the door slowly and found Bones laying on her side of the bed, facing the wall on her side with a pillow curled underneath her to support her belly. He heard a few sniffles and knew that she was crying, which made him feel even guiltier for the stupid little argument that they had downstairs. It was stupid and childish of him to even fight back, but he had let his pride get the best of him. Walking over to the bed, he slid in on his side and scooted to her. When she turned her head to look, he saw her tear-stained cheeks and every bit of anger he had left dissolved, making him realize that he was never really angry with her. He wrapped his arm around her waist and held her close to him.

"I'm sorry Bones," he whispered. "It was my fault I forgot the dry-cleaning. You had a right to be upset with me because you asked me to get it and I didn't."

"It was wrong of me to yell at you for it," she replied in a small voice, hiding the little sobs she was forcing back. "I let my pregnancy hormones get the better of me and I apologize for that Booth."

He kissed her neck gently and rested his chin on her shoulder, embracing her body with his own. "Guess we both let it get a little out of hand, huh Bones?" he asked softly.

She nodded and breathed deeply. "I find it much more difficult to control myself these days because of my hormones and all of these complex emotions," she explained. "Angela warned me that this would happen, but I didn't believe her until tonight."

Booth nodded and placed his palm against her belly, feeling their daughter kick against it, making him smile. "I guess we still have a lot to learn about this whole pregnancy thing."

"There is a lot that is different for every woman. Apparently I am horrible at keeping my emotions inward," she said.

"We'll learn together," he replied, rubbing her stomach.

"Am I forgiven for my incorrigible behavior?" she asked, looking back at him with pleading eyes that he could not refuse.

"Yeah, if you can forgive me for forgetting the dry-cleaning," he answered with a crooked smile.

"I've already forgiven you for that and can find something to wear in the morning before my meeting that will be a suitable replacement," she said, kissing him.

Booth returned the kiss, knowing that all anger about this night would be forgotten in the morning. Even though he and Bones had gone through their fair share of arguments, this was new to both of them since they were living together. They were getting used to each other still and things were going to rub them the wrong way, but that was part of being in a relationship. He was committed to making it work and knew that Bones was too. Despite their differences, he loved this woman and knew that he would be with her no matter what came their way in the future.

**

* * *

A/N: This chapter is in honor of Emily Deschanel getting MARRIED this past weeked! That's right folks, she is married! **

**Thank you all so much for the reviews given so far, they really make writing this story a pleasure and honor. I love writing this and want to know your opinions!**


	7. Did Not See That Coming

Brennan stood on the forensic platform, examining the remains of the child case she and Booth were still investigating and had been over the past month or so. They had positively identified the body as Aiden Garrison, a three-year-old little boy that had gone missing at a park six months previously when his father had taken him out to play while his mother was at home with their newborn daughter. She and Booth had personally delivered the news to the devastated parents, who deeply grieved for their son as they had hoped he was still alive somewhere being held captive instead of dead in the laboratory of some museum. Even though she had gone with Booth multiple times on cases like this to deliver he news to parents, this somehow just seemed more personal to her. She attributed it to the hormones she was experiencing because of her own pregnancy and imminent motherhood. That had been the hardest interview she had ever been a part of and she knew that being a mom would change her perspective on things like that. Logically, she had known that was coming though.

As she looked over the tiny body, she felt a few kicks from within her own womb from her daughter, pausing momentarily to press her hand to her stomach with a small smile. She was just shy of thirty-eight weeks by a couple of days and could not wait to meet the little girl that had been growing inside of her for the past eight months. Unknown to everyone, including Booth, she had already begun calling the baby by a nickname she had given her. It was something she would keep between herself and her daughter even after she was born. Booth had taken to calling the baby _Peanut_, which Brennan objected to since their child was not a type of nut, but Booth insisted it was a term of endearment which she grew fond of since it would be a father/daughter thing. She remembered that Booth's grandfather called him _shrimp_ and that seemed to make their bond only tighter, so she put aside her logical brain in order to enjoy the little things now. It was difficult to do at times, but she was getting better at it with Angela's help.

"I see that crooked little smile of yours," Angela interrupted as she came up onto the platform, causing Brennan to snap out of her thoughts and look over with a wider smile. "Baby kicking again?"

"She seems to be a little more active this morning," Brennan replied, still holding her gloved hand to her belly. "But her movements have definitely slowed down from what they used to be."

"That'll happen since she's probably squished for room and turning to bright her head further into your pelvis for birth," Angela said, putting down a set of files on the edge of the exam table.

"I am just ready to have her at this point," Brennan said bluntly. "I'm a lot more uncomfortable than usual and I find it is very difficult to remain patient when I just want to hold her."

"That is perfectly normal sweetie. I was antsy to hold Bren before she was born, wondering what she would look like…_who_ she would look more like and just to know that my baby was healthy." Angela crossed her arms and grinned brightly.

"I have a good prediction as to who the baby will take after," she said, smirking. "Genetically, darker hair and eyes tend to be a dominant trait, so the baby will probably have those aspects of Booth. However recessive traits can sometimes become more dominant as well. But we will know for certain in about two weeks."

"I can just see a beautiful little girl with dark curls and blue eyes," Angela said wistfully, grinning at Brennan before laughing. "But that's just my imagination running away with me again. It's an artist's curse. I've always had that overactive imagination."

"That is a good thing though Ange," she replied, looking to the folder placed on the table. "Are these the results from the particulates Hodgins found?"

Angela nodded. "He said that he found the type, make, and manufacturer of the rope that was used to strangle Aiden," Angela explained. "It's the same kind of rope used from the father's construction company."

Brennan nodded in understanding, looking at the paperwork Hodgins had written up. She recalled the father mentioning that some of his workers were unhappy with the hour cuts they had to make in light of the economy and having little work to really do. Booth was better at coming up with plausible scenarios from circumstantial evidence than she was since she liked the hard facts, but she could definitely see where a disgruntled worker would take a child to get revenge, but she couldn't see murder fitting in there unless an accident occurred.

"Thanks Ange," she said, looking over at Angela. "I'll let Booth know about this information and we can start bringing in the men that worked for the company the father owned."

"It was all Hodgins. I'm just the messenger since he is at the doctor's with Bren this morning," Angela replied.

"Is she ill?" she asked, suddenly concerned about her goddaughter's health.

"Oh no, she just had one of her check-ups with the pediatrician," Angela explained. "Hodgins wanted to take her this morning, so I told him I would go ahead and come into work so they could have a daddy/daughter morning."

Brennan smiled and nodded. "How do you think he fared at the doctor's office alone with an eight-month-old?" she asked, laughing.

"Well…my phone hasn't rang, so I'm assuming nothing major has blown up, a scene hasn't been made, and Bren is doing just fine," Angela said, laughing with Brennan about the thought of Hodgins calling her in a panic because something had gone wrong that probably was no big deal to a woman.

"That is a good thing then," Brennan said, still slightly laughing.

"Oh I'm waiting for when Bren is a teenager and asks to drive the car for the first time…Hodgins will have a heart attack." Angela shook her head and chuckled.

"I'm fairly certain that Booth will be the protective father as well to our daughter once she arrives." Brennan had seen his father skills with Parker, how protective he was of his son, and knew that he would be doubly so for their daughter.

After discussing the case for a little while longer, Angela went back to her office to work on something else while Brennan went back to the remains. The bones on her table were so tiny and seemed almost fragile in a way that she hadn't really looked at before now. She knew that they had to catch whoever murdered this innocent little boy and put that bastard behind bars. As she went over the bones again, her phone went off and she reached into her lab pocket, bringing it to her ear as she answered.

"Brennan," she said.

"Heya Bones," the voice on the other end greeted, making her smile a little at the familiarity of it.

"Booth," she replied. "Are you on your way to the lab?"

"Yeah, what's up?" he asked, concern laden into his voice.

"Hodgins identified the type of rope used to strangle the victim…the same type and make used at the father's construction site," she replied.

"You think it was one of the guys that worked for the dad?" he asked.

"I think it could possibly be," she carefully answered, knowing she didn't have all the facts in so she couldn't give a positive answer. "We need to question everyone that worked there around the time the victim disappeared and figure out who had access to the drugs in the boy's system, who would have motive to take him, and who does not have an alibi for that afternoon."

"I will be at the lab in less than five minutes," he said on the other end of the phone. "We can talk more about the details when I'm there."

"Okay, see you in a few minutes," she said, hanging up the phone before going back to work.

Booth walked through the sliding doors of the lab a few minutes later, causing her to look up. He slid his card and came up to the platform, looking at her. She gave him a small smile since no one was around, even though she was still uncomfortable with public displays of affection at work. It was almost semi-normal for them now, since they had been together over a year now. Everyone knew about their relationship, which was somewhat obvious because of the pregnancy, but most had already known before then. He stood over the table and looked at the remains before looking to her.

"So this rope that Hodgins found?" he inquired.

"Yes," she said, opening the file to show him Hodgins' findings. "It's a match for the same kind that is specifically used at the constructions sites by his father's company. It is the only kind that they use."

"Okay, we need to contact the father and get a list of all the employees to bring in for questioning and ask him if any were unhappy with him or the company in general around the time the kid disappeared," he said, breathing deeply.

"I know that this case is hard for you Booth, but we'll find out who did this…we always do," she reminded him. She knew that cases with kids were ones that Booth hated especially and she could finally see the reason behind it. She understood it. "We will get justice for Aiden and give him back to his family. That is the best thing we can do for that family."

Booth nodded subtly in agreement. "I'll make all the phone calls and start the interviews first thing in the morning," he went on, pulling out his phone to make the call to the Bureau to start the process of bringing people in.

While Booth was on the phone, Brennan snapped her gloves off and went over to the nearby computer to bring up the X-Rays of the little boy's skull. Daisy had been going through everything she could possibly think of to find the weapon that struck the boy, but so far they had only narrowed it down to a blunt, smaller object that could be easily wielded but deadly enough to fracture his skull. There were small metal shavings of some sort that were left behind in the wound that Hodgins had been working to identify through the mass spec, but he had been distracted by hunting down the type of rope first. Cam had also found high concentrations of white blood cells in his body, indicating that Aiden had the beginning stages of Leukemia around his death. His previous medical records, which showed a physical at twenty-four months, had no indication that they knew anything about his illness indicating that it was probably a recent onset before his death.

After Booth got off the phone, they went to her office and discussed some more of the details before she insisted he go home since he had not slept the night before. He had stayed up with her because of her back pain, keeping her company while she couldn't sleep herself. He argued that she should come home with him, but she insisted that she was fine and needed to work a little more on the remains before she would come home. After compromising that she would be home in an hour, Booth took off toward their house while Brennan remained at the office, going over some of the details in case she missed something. As promised, she grabbed her keys and left the building one hour later, going down to the parking garage where her car was. As she walked, she heard footsteps behind her getting closer, but when she turned around…there was no one there. Shaking it off, she continued to walk, but heard the footsteps behind her again. Holding her keys in her hand, she quickened her pace as much as she could at nine months pregnant, realizing that she couldn't fend off an assailant because her center of gravity had changed. Inwardly, she cursed not going home with Booth because she was basically a sitting duck without a gun or sufficient way of defending herself.

When she reached her car, she put the key in the lock before someone grabbed her from behind. Brennan stomped on the insole of the attacker's foot before elbowing them in the ribs, but whoever it was came prepared with a vest on underneath. _Damn it!_ she thought as she struggled.

"I told you this wasn't over," a wicked voice said behind her.

Before Brennan could reply, everything went black.

**

* * *

A/N: I know you all are probably HATING me right now, but I had to end it on a cliffhanger. I told you it was about to get dramatic! Let me know what you think. I love reviews...they seriously make my day and I've been having a few bad ones lately. Love you all!**


	8. This Isn't Over

Brennan came to sometime later, lying on a concrete floor of a small, confined space that looked like the trailer end of a semi-truck. As she sat up, she felt dizzy and disoriented with a splitting headache. Almost immediately, she brought her hand to her stomach and waited anxiously to feel the baby kick or give some sign that she was still alive. She was terrified that something had happened to her unborn daughter until she felt a reassuring kick from within that told her the baby was alright for now. Sitting up a little further, she examined where she was and tried to figure out the location. It was dimly lit in the room that she could barely see in. The walls looked like they were made of metal, but it was too dark to tell without touching them. She checked her pockets for her cell phone and knew that it had been taken from her as soon as she was unconscious. After doing an initial exam of her physical well-being, she slowly stood up after determining she was able to move. Nothing had been broken thankfully, but she was nauseous from being unconscious for a while.

Walking a few feet, she touched the metal walls and found a small opening to see out. There were several other trailers surrounding her in what looked like a storage unit. Looking around, she assessed how bad the situation was. She was thirty-eight weeks pregnant, locked in a storage shed of some sort, and at the mercy of whoever had kidnapped her. She had a pretty good idea of who had taken her though and wondered how she had gotten out of prison in the first place when they had put her away for a long time. Brennan's mind wrapped around how that was even possible, but then again she had seen someone else escape from prison before. Howard Epps had outsmarted the prison guards before with his fire charade, so she knew it was entirely possible for someone else to escape. When she stepped back, she heard a screeching noise before a small window opened on the opposite side of the shed.

"Well, well," the voice said from the other side before the face appeared. Heather Taffet's bright red hair and sneer was unmistakable for anyone else. "Looks like Sleeping Beauty is finally awake."

Brennan didn't know what that meant entirely, but she wasn't going to take the time to ask a criminal. "What do you want?" she asked rudely, sparing no patience for a woman who would kidnap and murder children, innocent people, and pregnant women.

"I told you that this wasn't over when you sent me to prison…I meant it," she replied, glaring at Brennan with an evil smirk.

"So you have reduced yourself to kidnapping a pregnant woman?" she asked in reply, taking a step toward the side of the shed that had the open window.

"Pregnant or not, you are still Dr. Brennan. The woman who sent me to prison without proper evidence or even a case to stand on," Heather said angrily. "You destroyed evidence in your little lab tests and then got the jury to take it. That is not justice."

"We had evidence. There was no contesting our results or the fact that you were the Grave Digger, responsible for the deaths of all those innocent people. You killed children. What kind of person does that?" Brennan did not understand psychology, nor did she really put stock into it, but she wanted to know what kind of person could seriously injure the innocent the way Heather Taffet had. "You took people from their families and ended their lives."

"There was no evidence proving that," Taffet sneered. "All circumstantial that you put forth to a jury of imbeciles that believed you because you hold a Ph.D."

"Several actually," Brennan corrected her sharply. "And all of which indicate that I have the proper training and judgment to assess whether or not you committed those crimes, which I proved beyond reasonable doubt that you did."

Taffet breathed sharply and clicked her tongue in reply before looking Brennan in the eyes through the small window. "Well, you're of no use to anyone now Dr. Brennan," she said harshly. "It's only a matter of time before you die alone."

"Does the life of my child mean nothing?" she asked immediately. "My child has done nothing wrong and yet, you punish her too?"

Taffet got closer to the window and sneered inside. "Your child means more to you and Agent Booth, like any parents…I want you both to suffer knowing that she never had a chance," she replied cruelly.

Without another word, the window snapped shut and Brennan was alone in the dim light of the shed she was being held captive in. She didn't see any way of escaping in her condition, given she was no longer anywhere near her previous size. Looking around, she tried to see if she could find anything that could be of use, but didn't see anything. Brennan knew that her best chance was to catch Taffet off-guard with something long enough to stun her so she could get away to get help. As she thought about the logistics, she knew that she would have to stun Taffet longer than normal because of the decreased speed due to her pregnancy. Finding the side of the shed, she leaned against it and slid down to a sitting position with her legs out in front of her. Running her hands along her belly, she felt a few kicks.

"I promise we will get out of here," she vowed to her daughter, knowing it was silly to talk to an unborn baby, but at the same time knew that the baby could hear the outside world. "Your father and I will find a way."

If she knew Booth, which she did, he had most likely already noticed something was wrong and was looking for her if she had been unconscious for several hours in that shed.

* * *

Booth had waited for an hour for Bones to come home. An hour came and went, but there was no Bones and no phone call from her. She always called if she was going to be late. Always. After an hour and a half went by, Booth was dialing phone numbers to see where she was. She wasn't picking up her cell or her office phone, which started to seriously worry him. He called Angela and Hodgins to see if they had seen her before leaving work. Both said that she was there when they left, so Booth called Cam, who reported the same thing. By the time he talked to all the squinterns and staff that worked with her, Booth was in a state of panic as he raced up to the Jeffersonian. Rushing into the lab, he went directly to her office, hoping to God he would find she had just fallen asleep or something in her office, but to his dismay she was nowhere to be found.

Completely panicked, he went down to the parking garage toward where her car would be parked. His heart sank into his stomach as he found her car still parked in it's spot with her cell phone dropped right by it. Immediately, he dialed Angela's number. When she picked up, he immediately started rambling.

"Bones is gone," he said in a state of panic and shock. "Her car is still here, her phone is right by her car…Bones is nowhere to be found."

"Whoa…what? Booth, where are you?" Angela asked from the other end.

"I'm at the Jeffersonian in the parking garage," he explained with even breaths. "I came to see if Bones had just forgotten to check her phone. She wasn't in her office or anywhere in the lab, so I came to see if her car was still parked in the garage. It's still here and her phone is right by the car on the ground…someone has taken Bones."

"Hodgins and I will be there in twenty minutes," Angela immediately replied. "Call Cam. I'll call Sweets, Daisy, and everyone else."

"Thanks Angela," he said, hanging up the phone. A thousand things were going through his mind at that point. He wanted to know who had taken her and why. He felt guilt for not being there to protect her because she was pregnant. And he felt the fear of a man afraid to lose the love of his life and his child.

A few phone calls later, everyone was gathered back at the Jeffersonian to figure out what happened. Booth had found tire treads right by Bones' car that were fresh, indicating that whoever took her had planned it. After photographing it, Hodgins and the rest of the team were already looking into the make and model of the tires to see what kinds of cars they were usually fitted to. Everyone was on edge, but Booth was more so than anyone else. This was his partner, best friend, lover, and mother of his unborn child that was taken from him. He wanted to find the sick bastard and deliver one son of a bitch straight to hell. Even though Booth was a God-fearing man, he knew that the vengeance of a father and mate were a lot stronger than any other vengeance. The Bible had proved that over and over again and Booth had read those stories growing up a Catholic.

The hours ticked by late into the night, but no one left. Angela had set up the play pen so Bren could sleep at the lab while they worked, even though Booth insisted that it wasn't necessary for her to have to stay. No one wanted to leave though, which only proved to Booth how much they all really cared for Bones. As everyone worked, Booth stood in Bones' office and looked around for anything that might tell him something about what happened, even though he knew that the only clues were the ones in the parking garage. Looking around, he saw the picture frame right next to her computer, holding a photograph of the two of them the day after they moved into their house. They were standing together and he was holding her with his hand on her stomach. Tears welled up in his eyes, which he quickly shoved away. He had to be strong. He was going to find her and bring her home before anything could happen. Putting the photo back on her desk, he heard his phone going off and answered it.

"Booth," he said.

"Hello cherie," the voice on the other end greeted. Booth recognized it as Caroline right away. "I heard the news…how is everyone?"

"As good as can be expected," he replied, not knowing what else to say. "The squints are working on using what little we have to go on here to find something."

"Then you're not gonna like what I'm about to tell you," she said eerily on the other end. "Brace yourself."

"The mother of my child is missing…I'm pretty sure I'm braced for about anything," he replied.

"Heather Taffet turned up missing from prison early yesterday morning," she said grimly.

"Taffet…as in The Grave Digger?" he asked, feeling the rest of his body sink with his heart.

"That's the one cherie," she said. "The guards said she did not appear for morning role call and a full-scale investigation was launched when they checked her cell and she was not there."

"Why the hell weren't we told this yesterday?" he asked bitterly, knowing that if he had known Taffet was out, he would have never left Bones alone.

"The prison wanted to keep things under wraps…their damn politics seemed more important than telling potential victims that a serial killer was on the loose again," she replied. "Believe me, heads are rolling over this one."

"So Taffet is out of prison and Bones comes up missing…coincidence? I think not," he said, shaking his head. "I'll let the squints know and get the FBI in on this as quick as possible. I want a full-scale search team on this."

"You got it cherie," Caroline replied. "I'll get as many people as I can on this end. We will find her Agent Booth."

"Thank you Caroline," he replied before hanging up the phone.

Putting his phone on the desk, he walked over the other side of the room and beat his fist against the wall. He had a pretty good idea of who had taken Bones now. Taffet was going outside of her usual M.O. which scared the living hell out of Booth. They had no idea what she was going to do to Brennan because she obviously wasn't in it for the money anymore. This was pure, unadulterated hatred and rage pent up toward one person that was being acted upon. He didn't know how he would find her, but he would find Bones and bring her home alive and safe if it was the last thing he did. Bones and their unborn child were his life. It had taken them almost six years to admit that they loved one another and that wasn't going to be taken away from him now that they were finally happy. As God as his witness, Booth was not going to let Heather Taffet take that from him or Bones.

* * *

**A/N: Thank you all SO much for being patient with me on this. I've been sick the past couple days and school has drowned me again, but I did get this chapter done. Let me know what you think so far!**


	9. Racing

The hours ticked by and there was still no phone call or demands made for Bones, which was making Booth anxious. He paced the lab, holding his cell phone in his hands and watching the squints work on what little evidence that they had. Hodgins had already been working on any particulates left behind in the tire treads while Angela was identifying the type of tires that left behind the marks as well as the common cars they were used on. Booth had already called every field agent he knew and they were all up and searching, combing the nearby areas closest to the Jeffersonian by eight the next morning. He wasn't going to give up or rest until he knew that Bones was back home safe. That was his promise as her partner and her best friend. He had promised her that nothing would ever happen to her and he wasn't going to break his promise. Booth was never a person to give up.

No one had slept since the previous night and everyone was on edge, but no one was more than Booth. The more he paced, the more images of Taffet hurting Bones and their baby came to his mind and the angrier he got. He would not be able to handle finding Bones' body somewhere in a ditch because she suffocated to death or something else entirely, but equally as horrifying. That was not something he would bring himself to think about any longer as he walked over to Hodgins' desk.

"Have you gotten anything yet from the treads?" he asked anxiously.

"I picked out the concrete bits that were common to the parking garage and narrowed what particulates were left to two very specific areas," he said, bringing up the images on the computer. "Whatever kind of car this was had been to Maryland. Morus rubra leaves, or Red Mulberry, and Quercus alba, or white oak were both mixed into the treads. Both are common to that area."

"Okay, anything else…Maryland is a pretty huge place compared to DC," Booth said urgently. If he knew an area, he could send a search team in that direction, but a whole state was just too large to encompass in time.

"There is this…Nelumbo lutea," Hodgins replied, pointing to another piece on the computer screen. "American Lotus. It's an endangered species only found in Kent county in Maryland."

"We need to send a team over there right now," Booth replied, pulling out his cell phone. "This is Special Agent Seeley Booth. I need a search team sent directly to Kent county, Maryland." He paused to listen to the other end. "Yes, bring the dogs. Bring extra officers, and have a medical evac team on standby. We're looking for Dr. Temperance Brennan. She is eight and a half months pregnant and will possibly need assistance." He listened some more before replying. "I'll meet you there."

After hanging up the phone, Booth stuck it in his pocket and looked back at Hodgins. "Thanks Hodgins," he said. "Tell Angela to plaster Taffet's image all over the news. If anyone sees her, we'll be the first to know."

Hodgins nodded. "We'll get her Booth," he said reassuringly. "Nothing is going to happen to Dr. Brennan."

"Taffet better be praying to God right now because she crossed the wrong man," he replied, stepping out of Hodgins' area and began walking toward the door of the lab. He knew that if anything every happened to Bones or their baby, there would be hell to pay over and over again for Taffet. And it wasn't the kind of repayment that came with three meals a day and an orange jumpsuit. Booth might've been a patient man, but this was not something he joked around with.

Climbing into his truck, he shut the door and took off toward Kent county in Maryland on the other side of the bay. It wasn't an easy two hour drive to make when he was used to having his partner in the front seat with him, but he made it and pulled into Kennedyville to meet up with some of the other officers and search team. Booth briefed them all on the situation at hand and knew that some of them knew about his and Bones' reputation for solving cases. Some of the officers they had even worked with before on other cases, so they were all respectful of the situation. Once everyone had been debriefed, they spread out and immediately started searching the nearby forests and close towns. Booth went into town to question people to see if they had seen anything. This was going to be another long day, but Booth wasn't giving up. He wasn't going to back down from this fight.

He spent most of the day interviewing local people, showing them the photographs of both Bones and Heather Taffet, but no one in town had seen either of them. He moved on to the next town, which was a few miles away. Booth followed the same routine for a few more small towns until it was dark. It had been twenty-four hours since he'd last seen Bones, which was making him antsy and irritated. He wanted to have her safe at home in his arms where he could know if she was alright. One of his biggest fears was her going into labor without him there and Taffet doing something to the baby after killing Bones. Booth knew he wouldn't be able to live with himself if anything happened to either of them. His daughter and partner were everything to him. Even if he and Bones weren't married, it was a hell of a lot closer than some people ever got to another person. So he trudged on, without sleep and without food, from town to town looking for a clue to point him in the right direction while the squints all worked back at the lab trying to solve this case before it became a murder case.

* * *

Brennan remained sitting on the side of the shed, looking around. Her eyes had finally adjusted to the dim lighting to see that she had no furniture or anything suitable to lay on to sleep. Looking down, her clothes were dirty, but there was no signs of blood, meaning that she hadn't been hit on the head enough to break her skin. Lifting her shirt, she checked her belly for signs of trauma and discovered that she was fine there. The baby was still kicking at a regular pace, which was comforting at least. Taffet hadn't come back since that first encounter, which Brennan estimated to be about four hours previously, so she wondered what exactly Taffet had planned for her. Brennan deducted that she wasn't going to suffocate her since she hadn't trapped her in a space with limited air or buried her in the middle of nowhere like she had the first time. She had not provided food, so her plan might've been to starve her and the baby to death slowly and painfully. Brennan had no idea, but she really didn't want to find out.

As she thought about that, she heard the awful screeching noise from the window that Taffet had opened before. Brennan turned her head to see Taffet standing there with a sneer on her face and an evil glare in her eyes.

"Having fun yet, Dr. Brennan?" Taffet asked.

"Not particularly," she replied curtly. "This is not my idea of fun, so it's inappropriate for you to even ask."

"Well, I'm having fun so that's all that matters," Taffet said coldly. "I cannot wait to see the look on your partner's face when he finds you and your child dead."

"Booth will track you down!" she exclaimed, sure that Booth would not give up on them. He never had before. He'd saved her life many times before without thinking about it when they were just partners, but now that they were romantically involved and expecting a child together, she knew that the connection between them was even stronger.

"By the time Booth and his army of feds find you, I'll be long gone from here and living up the high life in some foreign country where they can't extradite me back to the U.S. Prison gives you a lot of time to plot and plan," Taffet said, grinning evilly.

"You are an evil person," Brennan snapped, getting to her feet slowly. "And if I believed in a Hell the way Booth does, I would say that you are going to Hell. But I know that you won't get away with this."

"Oh but I will Dr. Brennan," Taffet said wickedly. "I will and there is not a damn thing you can do about it. Enjoy your last few hours of life Dr. Brennan. I assure you, they are very short."

"Booth will find you!" she shouted as Taffet slammed the window shut again, leaving Brennan alone as she slammed her hand against the metal side of the shed. "Damn it."

Brennan took a step back from the wall and breathed deeply, feeling a slight twinge in her lower back. Pressing her hand over the pain, she tried to massage it away as she bent over as much as she could. It subsided after a few moments enough for her to stand up straight again. Walking around, Brennan forced herself to think about the situation and her options. _What would Booth do?_ she thought to herself. She knew that he wouldn't be stuck in this situation in the first place, but she was not Booth. He had years of Army Ranger training under his belt, but Temperance Brennan was not a helpless woman nor had she ever been. She had already checked the only door that seemed to lead out, but he was padlocked shut with several locks. This was bad, but she had been in worse. Looking around, she tried to find some sort of opening in the metal, but found nothing. The dull pain in her lower back came back again a few minutes later, accompanied by a sharp pain in her abdomen.

Brennan gasped and fell to her knees, holding her stomach in pain. The pain lasted a few more moments before subsiding. Brennan straightened back up, still on her knees. Reaching between her legs, she felt that her pants were now wet. She had gone into labor. In a metal shack. In the middle of nowhere with no medical help. This was worse. Way worse.

**

* * *

A/N: I felt really inspired, so I put up a new chapter earlier than expected. I really appreciate all the reviews so far. Please continue to leave them and let me know what you think!**


	10. Filling In The Gaps

Angela had spent all night and most of the next day working on anything she could to help out with the investigation. She had put out a photograph of Heather Taffet on the news, stating that she was at large and a wanted criminal and spent the majority of the daylight hours comparing the tire treads in the photographs to other tires. She narrowed the cars down to three specific make and models that used the brand of tires from the treads. A Toyota Four-Runner, an X-Terra, and a Chevy Suburban. All of which were SUV types and common to the area, which made things even harder, but Angela texted the information on to Booth. By the time twenty-four hours rolled around, Angela had done all that she could do with the given information and evidence. Hodgins was still working with particulates while the rest of the squints shuffled around the lab, looking like a bunch of lost puppies without their mother. In some weird way, Brennan was their mother. She was their teacher and for a lot of them, their mentor. The new interns had no idea what was going on, so they were like ducks just following one another while Daisy buried herself in work. Everyone was lost.

After submitting the photo and sending the text messages to Booth, Angela remained in her office with Bren, who had started to become fussy. At eight-months-old, she was very good at communicating when she'd had enough of a particular situation and this was definitely her way of telling Angela that she was done. Heeding the whines and sharp cries of her daughter, Angela went over and picked up Bren from the playpen, sitting down on the couch with her. Smiling at Bren, she hoisted her above her head like an airplane before bringing her down and blowing raspberries on her cheeks, causing the little one to giggle and clap her hands gleefully. Angela laughed and kissed her daughter's forehead before holding her close.

"I know you miss your Auntie Brennan," she said softly. "But I promise that Uncle Booth is going to find her. Mommy and Daddy too."

There was no reply from the eight-month-old, but Angela didn't expect one. It was scary for everyone. Brennan had been missing for twenty-four hours, she hadn't slept, and no one knew what was happening. The only thing she knew for certain was that Booth had charged out of the lab, determined to find Brennan and bring her back safe before anything happened to her. Her best friend had been taken right from underneath them by the one woman in the world that could possibly truly hurt her and had a devil's vengeance against Brennan for putting her behind bars.

"What do you say we have a Mommy and Bren nap time?" she asked her daughter, who was beginning to fall asleep anyways. "Mommy hasn't slept in twenty-four hours…I haven't done that since you were a newborn. Let's just get some sleep and hopefully when we wake up, Daddy and Uncle Booth will know more."

Angela slid down on the couch, with Bren laying on her chest and stretched her legs out. Once she was comfortable, she started rubbing her daughter's back to help her lull into a deeper sleep. It always worked, so Angela knew it would tonight too. As she held her daughter, she started to hum a soft lullaby to help them both go to sleep. Bren drifted off to a deeper sleep, sucking on her fingers. That was something Angela had noticed Bren doing recently, but didn't think anything of it. Little kids sucked their thumbs all the time. Her father had told her she did the same thing until she was about three, so she wasn't going to worry too much about it, especially not now. There were so many other things that were going through Angela's mind at this point that she wasn't going to worry about something trivial like her child sucking her fingers. She thought about where Brennan might be at that point and prayed to God that she was alright. For everyone's sake, Brennan had to be alright. Brennan and the baby both needed to be okay.

* * *

Booth wouldn't give up. He refused. Even without sleep, without food, and no clues other than he needed to be in Kent county, Maryland, he would not give up on Bones. He wandered into another town and started asking around the local diner. There were a few guys that were just passing through, so they didn't know the regulars from the tourists. Booth walked up to the counter and sat down, looking at the waitress. She seemed like she had been working there quite some time, even though she was relatively young. After ordering a cup of coffee when the waitress introduced herself as Demi, Booth pulled out the two photographs he had with him.

"Have you ever seen this woman?" he asked Demi, putting Bones' photo on the counter. "She'd be about eight and a half months pregnant now, last seen wearing a short-sleeved button down maternity top and black maternity pants."

Demi shook her head. "No sir, I'm afraid not. I see a lot of people in here, but none recently that were pregnant or looked like her."

Booth nodded and set down the second photo, the one of Taffet. "What about this woman?" he asked, looking at Demi again.

She nodded. "Now her, I've seen before," she replied. "She came in here earlier today. Parked her black SUV outside and came in to order a cup of coffee…seemed kind of frazzled, but kept her cool the entire time. She was polite."

Booth felt his heart rate pick up immediately. Taffet was in the area and he could feel it in his bones. "Did she mention where she was staying or heading at all?" he asked calmly and directly.

Demi thought about it for a moment, absentmindedly fiddling with her nametag on her shirt. "Come to think of it, she mentioned going up to a cabin near Eastern Neck National Wildlife Refuge," Demi replied. "She was pretty relaxed, saying it was a vacation she'd been meaning to take for years."

"Thank you so much Demi," he replied, putting down money on the counter with an extra couple dollars for a tip before darting out the door. He'd received the text message from Angela about the type of cars the tires were frequently put on, which were all SUV types. The pieces were coming together now. Darting out of the diner, it was past sunset now and getting dark. Booth knew he only had a little while longer before searching would be useless until first light unless he could get some backup with flashlights. He pulled out his phone and called the nearest team to his area to come as fast as they could while he drove out to the Wildlife Refuge. They responded and were on their way.

Booth raced outside of town and onto the Refuge grounds within a few minutes. He stopped by the rangers' office and enlisted their help in finding the cabin he was looking for. Within minutes, he was sitting outside of a dark cabin, waiting for his back up. There was a dim light in the main room along with some movement. One person, female, about the approximate height he remembered Taffet being. The shadows were longer, but he could tell from his training that it was female. If there was one thing he knew, he was going to take this bitch down and find out where Bones was. When the backup arrived, he slipped out of his SUV and pulled out his gun, signaling the others to follow his lead. When he walked up to the door, he made eye contact with the other officers before kicking in the door. What he walked in on, Booth was not prepared for. The body of Heather Taffet was swinging from the long log that ran across the cabin. The other officers swarmed the entire cabin, securing the area. Booth lowered his gun and found a note on the end table, written in her handwriting.

_When you and your team of crock scientists sent me to prison, I told you this wasn't over, but now it is. I died a free woman tonight and there is nothing you can do about that Agent Booth. Your precious Dr. Brennan is somewhere you will never find her and I can assure you that by the time you do, she'll be dead along with your child. Good luck. I hope you find her right upon her dying words. Your only clue…row, row, row your boat._

_~The Grave-Digger_

Booth crumpled the paper in anger, but quickly turned around to the other agents, showing them the note as they took down the body. The proper authorities were being called, along with the coroner and other various police, but Booth was uninterested in this now. His sole interest was now to find Bones. Looking at the note again, he thought of all the possible meanings that Taffet could have meant by that last line. Bones could be on some sinking ship somewhere in the middle of the bay for all he knew, but Taffet wasn't that obvious. She was a lot more conniving than that and had been for years without people even knowing as she operated under their noses as a United States Attorney. It was far too simple for her to do something like that to someone she hated as much as she hated Bones. Pulling out his phone, he dialed Hodgins' number to tell them the news and to ask what they could pull from the note.

"Hodgins," replied the voice on the other end, sounding completely exhausted. Booth could tell that no one had slept in over twenty-four hours.

"Hey, it's Booth," he said briskly. "We found Taffet."

"You did? Is Dr. Brennan okay? What happened?" Hodgins' questions came at him a mile a minute.

"We haven't found Bones yet…listen Hodgins, Taffet committed suicide and left a note behind. I'm going to read it to you and see what you can get out of it or maybe Angela or someone there. Can you write it down as I read?" he asked.

"Yeah, let me get a pen and paper," Hodgins replied.

When Hodgins was ready, Booth transcribed the note to him over the phone to see what they could come up with at the lab. When he was done, he got off the phone with Hodgins and grabbed a couple of guys to go around to see if he could find something to do with boats within driving distance of the cabin. It was now a race against time. With Taffet gone, they had little to nothing to go on and it was now dark. Booth was determined though. He was going to find her.

* * *

Brennan had made it back to a standing position by the time another contraction hit her. She braced herself against the wall and breathed through it. It was probably the most painful thing she had ever endured in her entire life, but she remained calm and level-headed. She had to think about the possibilities in this situation. The baby was coming, which meant she had a few more hours before she would give birth. This place was not suitable or sterile by any means for giving birth to a child, but it was what she had at the moment. When the contraction subsided, she made it to the other side of the shed and sat down to prepare herself for the next one while she came up with a plan. Looking through the tiny crack in the metal, she was able to see the moon and deducted she had been missing for over twenty-four hours by now and that it was the middle of the night. If she could make it to first light, she could possibly get help…if Taffet didn't come back before that. She hoped that Taffet wouldn't come back again and realize that she was in labor.

The hours dragged on as Brennan's contractions got stronger and closer together. Her level of pain had increased to a threshold she was no longer able to control as she cried out during the contractions each time. She tried to remain in a rational state of mind, but that was quite difficult to do without any type of pain medication or help. The pain seared through her as each contraction came and she wished Booth was there. As much as she did not understand human emotions, she understood that she wanted him there to squeeze his hand and tell him how much it hurt. She had not planned to be giving birth in the middle of nowhere in a shed, but that was the circumstance she was stuck in. Her plans had been to give birth in a hospital with Booth by her side and doctors there to assist if anything should go wrong. She grasped her stomach with each new contraction and clenched her teeth, breathing through them one by one.

Hours drug on until she could see the light from the sun beginning to show through the cracks in the shed. It was morning. Brennan estimated she had been in labor for at least eight hours, but wasn't entirely sure. The contractions were steady at every five minutes now, so she was able to brace herself between them, but they were still just as painful. Her stomach was tight and rigid with each one, meaning she was getting closer to the birth. She still didn't have any options to giving birth on the floor since there was nothing else in the room, but secretly she was holding out the hope that someone would come help her.

"Someone help me!" she screamed at the top of her lungs as another contraction hit her, hoping there was someone, anyone nearby.

**

* * *

A/N: Ok, so I had to stop this chapter here because of what is coming next. What do you think? Are you guys ready to see what happens next? Thank you all so much for the reviews so far! Keep them coming and I'll post the next chapter faster!**


	11. Saving You

Booth searched all through the night, never stopping. No one was going to stop until Bones was found and safe, but he sure as hell wasn't going to especially because he loved her and she was carrying their child. The entire search team spread out through the area, combing the nearby woods for anything associated with boats. They searched private properties and local boathouses without any luck. Booth contacted Hodgins several times throughout the night to see what he and the rest of the squint squad had come up with. They lead him to several other boathouses, but none showed any evidence of Bones ever being there. Around seven in the morning, Booth came to a small town called Rock Hall, which was located on Chesapeake Bay. He found a twenty-four hour gas station to get some coffee at so he could stay awake longer. Caffeine, adrenaline, and the drive to find the woman he loved were the only things keeping him going at this point.

When he walked in, he was greeted by the clerk at the counter, a young girl with a nametag that read Jackie on it. She couldn't have been more than twenty-years-old with long curly hair and a sweet smile, trusting smile. In a way, she kind of reminded him of Angela, but a younger version. Booth went over to the coffee machine and got some plain black coffee in a to-go cup before walking up to the counter to pay for it. When Jackie rang it up and took his money, he held out the two photographs of Taffet and Bones for her to look at.

"Have you seen either one of these women before?" he asked, hoping and praying to God that she had seen at least one.

She looked at the pictures and studied them for a moment before pointing to the one of Taffet. "I've seen her before," she replied. "She came in here yesterday to pay for some gas for her SUV."

"Did she mention going anywhere in particular or ask for directions?" Booth inquired.

"Actually, she was asking if there were any storage places close by…" Jackie replied, trailing off for a moment. "Said there was something important she needed to store, but didn't mention what."

Booth felt his breath hitch. "Did you tell her anywhere in particular?" he asked, somewhat panicking.

"I told her that the closest places were down on the bay, about ten miles from here," Jackie said. "But most of those places are for row boats and racing boats."

"How many places are there?" he asked, somewhat picking up the pace in his questioning.

"I told her about two of the places. There is one that is ten miles from here and another about twelve miles out. I can look up the addresses for you if you'd like," she offered.

"No, I can get it on the way…thank you so much!" he replied, grabbing the photos and darting out of the store back to his SUV.

Jumping into his truck, he called Hodgins and had him get the two addresses for the boat storage places. Booth hung up and got the text message moments later from Hodgins before turning on his siren and speeding toward the first location. He called the other search teams and had them head that direction, mentioning that they would possibly need medical assistance. Once that was done, he hung up and raced as fast as he could to the first location. When he arrived, he parked the SUV and jumped out, quickly drawing his gun just in case and began searching in the vacant storage sheds.

"Bones!" he called, hoping she was conscious and able to call out for him if she was nearby. "Bones, if you hear me…yell, make noise, do something!"

He waiting, but heard nothing. He knew that if she were conscious, she would be making all kinds of noise to get his attention wherever she was. Within minutes, the rest of the search team was there and helping him look in each shed, but nothing turned up. They went from shed to shed, kicking in each door to find nothing or just supplies like any normal shed. Booth had a sinking feeling that Bones was not here, but at the other place instead. He grabbed a few guys and the medical team to go to the second location two miles away, telling some guys to remain behind in case there was something he missed. Booth jumped into his car again and raced off to the second location with the others following. He found the place and pulled off the highway and parked, jumping out with his gun again. Carefully and slowly, he walked through the sheds that were already opened, listening carefully.

"Bones!" he called out like he did before. She had to be here. There was no other option and he was running out of time. As he walked through the grounds of the storage facility, he heard the piercing scream and ran.

* * *

Brennan remained in her sitting position, doubled over in pain. The contractions were much stronger now and closer together. She had never felt anything like this before. Not in all the times she had gotten hurt or banged up because of her job. This was ten times worse. She had always heard that childbirth was painful, but now she believed it. There was no denying that fact at all. Part of her wondered how in the world other women went through this without pain medication voluntarily. Her brain knew that Anthropologically speaking, some women thought it brought them closer to their child because they went through the pain intended for women to bring a child into the world. However, she was not that kind of woman. She wanted to be comfortable, but that was not an option here or now. Feeling another strong contraction, she braced herself against the wall and tried to breathe through it. Finally, she heard the one voice she wanted so desperately to hear.

_Booth._

He was here. He had found her and she was saved. But she couldn't say a word as she was still held captive by the pain of her contraction, so instead she screamed at the top of her lungs in pain. She knew he would hear it and come running in the right direction. When the contraction subsided, she still wasn't able to get to her feet. Her entire body was exhausted and didn't want to respond.

"Booth!" she called out, hoping he would be able to hear which direction she was calling from. "Booth…I'm in here!"

Booth was here and she was going to be alright. Now that she had been found, she could get out of the shed to deliver their child safely. At least, she hoped there was still time between now and then. She waited and heard movements outside of the shed before a loud banging sound. A wave of relief washed over her as the door screeched open and revealed Booth on the other side. He immediately rushed over to her side and knelt beside her. As he did so, another contraction came and she grasped his hand tightly, breathing through it as much as she could. Her entire body was shaking and it felt like something was ripping from inside her, but she fought through it until it subsided and she was able to look into Booth's comforting brown eyes, something she never thought she would see again.

"The baby is coming!" she exclaimed, wide-eyed. "I've been in labor for over eight hours now, my water has broken, and need to get to the hospital."

"We're having a baby?" Booth asked, eyes widening with shock and excitement. "She's coming right now?"

"Yes Booth, I'm having the baby and unless you want me to give birth in here, I suggest you help me up and get me out of here!" she replied urgently, grabbing onto his shoulder to ease herself up.

"Hang on Bones," he said, putting his arm behind her knees and the other behind her back to lift her up. Brennan didn't argue, but instead wrapped her arms around his neck as she was carried out of the shed. She knew she was too weak to walk and with her contractions being as close as they were, it was impractical to try.

When they exited the shed, Booth carried her over to his SUV where they were met by a EMT. An ambulance had arrived already and people were buzzing around the scene. Brennan wondered where Taffet was, but didn't think to ask in her current condition. All that mattered to her was having this baby and that Booth was there. Booth set her in the back of the SUV and the paramedic started asking all sorts of questions. None of which Brennan could answer as another contraction hit her. Booth answered most of the questions about her current gestational age and condition as well as who her doctor was at the hospital back in DC. Gripping the seats, she clenched her jaw and tried to breathe through it again, but felt the urge to push instead. Reaching over, she grabbed Booth's hand and looked in his eyes.

"I need to push," she said sternly, looking from him to the paramedic.

"Okay Ms. Brennan," the female paramedic said, putting on a pair of gloves. "I'm going to have to remove your pants to see if the baby is crowning. We have a sheet we can put under you and another to cover you as well."

Brennan nodded and lifted her hips so they could remove her maternity pants and undergarments. They put the sheet underneath her as well as one covering her legs before the paramedic looked up.

"You're fully dilated and the baby is crowning," she explained quickly, looking to Booth as well. "On your next contraction, I want you to push down for ten seconds, take a breath, and push again for ten more until the contraction stops. Can you do that Ms Brennan?"

Brennan nodded, not even caring to correct her about her name at this point. Looking at Booth, she took his hand when she felt the next contraction, baring down as hard as she could for ten seconds. She took a breath and pushed again until she felt the contraction subside. The paramedic encouraged her and told her to stop when there wasn't anymore contraction, which she did and breathed deeply. Booth moved so he was sitting behind her, supporting her while holding her hands. This continued for almost half an hour, each time Brennan felt a contraction, she pushed as hard as she could in her exhausted composure. It was the most exhausting thing Brennan had ever endured, but she kept pushing on for the sake of their daughter. After another fifteen minutes, Brennan could not do it anymore and leaned her head back on Booth's chest in near-tears.

"I can't do this anymore Booth," she cried, feeling somewhat helpless.

"We just need one more push before the head is out," the paramedic said gently.

"Yes you can, just one more push Bones," he encouraged. "One more big one and the rest is easy."

"You can't say that for sure!" she quipped. Only Temperance Brennan could argue logic while giving birth to a child.

"Just push Bones," he urged. "Push for the baby. Push for me."

Brennan felt another contraction and grabbed Booth's hands as she pushed down as hard as she could. She only stopped when the paramedic told her to. There was an intense amount of pressure while she waited, but she held perfectly still while the paramedic readied a receiving blanket to wrap the baby in after suctioning out the baby's mouth and nose once. When Brennan pushed again, she felt a tiny body leave her own and heard the shrill cries of her newborn daughter as her mouth and nose were suctioned out again. She looked down just in time to see the tiny bundle being placed on her chest. Letting go of Booth's hands, she took the baby in her arms for the first time and gazed into the eyes of her daughter.

"It's a beautiful little girl," the paramedic said, smiling.

The baby was utterly beautiful to Brennan, with some dark hair and beautiful blue eyes like all newborns had. Booth cut the cord while the paramedic worked on delivering the placenta. Brennan kept her eyes on her daughter, tears welling up from pride, joy, and the sheer happiness that she had been delivered safely, albeit in the back of Booth's SUV, but still safely.

Within a couple of minutes, Brennan, the baby, and Booth were all in the back of the ambulance on their way to the nearest hospital so she and the baby could be checked out by the doctors. Her ordeal was over and everyone was safe. Brennan held the bundle close in her arms, running her finger along the beautiful baby girl's fingers. She never knew how much she could love a single human being that she'd only just met until now. That never made sense to her until she looked into her daughter's eyes for the first time and held her. Looking over at Booth, she saw him beaming proudly and grinned.

"She looks quite a bit like you," she said softly. "The dark hair for sure, but I think she has my nose."

Booth nodded in agreement with a grin. "She is beautiful, just like you."

"I think she took on a good blend of both our features," Brennan said indefinitely, nodding and looking to their newborn child.

They were both silent for a few moments before she looked to him with questioning eyes. "How did you find me?" she asked, finally realizing that Heather Taffet had never come back.

"Taffet committed suicide, but left a note with only one clue…we used that and figured out where you were," he replied.

Brennan nodded, knowing that their ordeal was finally over and she wouldn't have to worry about the Grave-Digger coming after their child or her ever again. Breathing a sigh of relief, she kissed the top of their daughter's head. When they arrived at the hospital, Brennan and the baby were immediately admitted and seen by a obstetrician and pediatrician and given a clean bill of health on both parts, which was a miracle considering she had gone through most of labor in a shed and delivered in the back seat of an SUV. Brennan was only thankful that nothing happened to the baby and that she had a relatively uncomplicated delivery, albeit painful.

After a couple of hours rest for everyone, Brennan and Booth called everyone back at the Jeffersonian to tell them the news about the baby's birth. Angela and Hodgins made their way over to the hospital from DC. When they arrived, Brennan had just finished nursing the baby for the first time and sat up, holding her up in her arms for them to see.

"Oh my god, Brennan, she is gorgeous," Angela gushed, walking over to look closer while Hodgins held Bren in the background. "She is just perfect."

Brennan beamed and smiled. "The doctor says she's perfectly healthy. Seven pounds, four ounces, and nineteen and a half inches long."

"And you delivered her in the back of Booth's SUV?" Angela asked, still in disbelief of the whole thing.

"It was a better alternative than the shed I was held captive in," Brennan said.

"No pain meds either," Angela continued, amazed. "I'm proud of you sweetie. What's her name?"

Brennan looked to Booth, who nodded and smiled, before looking back to Angela. "Emily is her name. Emily Christine Booth."

"That is a gorgeous name," Angela said.

"I wanted her middle name to be my mother's and Parker suggested Emily be her first name, which Booth and I both agreed was a perfect fit," she explained proudly.

"She is gonna be a little heart-breaker in the future," Angela said, laughing softly. "Emily and Bren both."

Brennan laughed in agreement. Knowing her best friend the way she did, Angela's daughter would probably carry on some of the same personality traits and she hoped that Emily would be outgoing like her dad. Looking down at her daughter, she knew that this was the best day of her life, regardless of the circumstances that brought them all here. It had ended happily rather than in tragedy, which is what mattered in the end. Her only fear now was motherhood. She was still unsure of the kind of mother she would be, but knew that Booth would be by her side the entire time.

**

* * *

A/N: TA-DA! What do you guys think of the baby's name? I thought it appropriate since our favorite girl has the same name! I'm not finished with this story, so keep on reviewing and reading. I really appreciate all the reviews, so keep them coming. They make my day!**


	12. Family

Brennan woke to the whimpering cries of Emily from her bassinet right next to the bed. Leaning over, she gently lifted her out of the bed and laid her across her chest, rubbing her back gently in a circle to calm her down. Emily was just over two weeks old, but was already the center of Brennan and Booth's lives. As she laid there, she felt her little one squirming and clenching her fists against her nightgown before settling. She was the most beautiful baby Brennan had ever seen, even if she was biased because it was her own child, but Emily was just perfect. The trauma of her unexpected early arrival and the fact that Brennan had gone through labor in a shed had no ill effect on the baby whatsoever, which was a huge miracle. They were released from the hospital after two days and came home for the first time as a family, something Brennan never thought she would have.

"Hi beautiful," she said softly, whispering to the baby so not to wake Booth. He had stayed up for a large portion of the night with Emily, so she wanted to let him have some sleep.

Emily's eyes were open and she was making soft grunting noises while she wiggled around on Brennan's chest again. She had never cared for something so small and helpless before, but had fallen in love with her child the moment she laid eyes on her. Angela had told her that it would happen, but she hadn't believed it until it happened. Brennan believed that humans couldn't love a single person monogamously, but she had loved Seeley Booth and only him. She didn't believe in love at first sight until she brought Emily into the world. Her daughter was her world now.

When Emily wouldn't settle down, Brennan got up slowly and gently from the bed, still sore from giving birth. She walked into the nursery next door and turned on the CD player, which had a CD inside of some piano lullabies that she had found before the baby was born. Turning one on, she held her daughter against her chest lovingly and swayed around the room slowly, hoping to lull the baby back to sleep. Emily sighed and started to drift after a few minutes, making Brennan smile. Her thoughts were interrupted when she noticed Booth leaning on the doorway of the nursery with a smile on his face.

"I'm sorry, did we wake you?" she asked, concerned that the music had woken Booth up since he had been asleep when she came into the nursery.

He shook his head and walked over, kissing her temple and the baby's forehead. "I was already awake when Emily woke up. I just wanted to come see if you were alright."

"We're fine Booth," she said softly. "She likes the music, so I thought I'd come in here for a little while to see if she would go back to sleep."

"You know her so well," he replied, smiling.

"I love her so much already," she said, looking down at the small being in her arms. "I did not know that was possible. Now I understand what it means to be a parent, how you feel with Parker. I get that now."

"You're an amazing mom, Bones," he said softly, wrapping his arms around them. "You know our daughter better than anyone."

She didn't argue with him, but instead laid her head on his shoulder and smiled. Angela had tried to explain to her all those years ago about loving someone being the best thing in the world, but she hadn't believed her until now. Brennan had dated other guys and been with them, but never had she allowed someone to get so close to her like she had Booth. He had seen all of her, the good and the bad, and yet chose to love her still. Booth had been the person she'd gone to when she was upset or when something good happened. She told him personal things about her life that she never told anyone else before, things about her parents, her brother, and her life in foster care. He had been her comforter when they found her mother's remains and when her father had been in prison, teaching her that not everything was so black and white. He had also taught her that there were more than one kind of family.

"Why don't I take Emily for a little while?" he offered, looking down at her. "You can shower and relax for a bit."

"Are you sure?" she asked hesitantly.

"Yes," he replied, kissing her forehead. "We'll hang out in here so you can rest. I know how to change a diaper and can calm her down if she starts to fuss."

"What if she gets hungry? You can't nurse her," Brennan objected, concerned about leaving her baby for any length of time.

"She just ate an hour ago, so I think she'll be okay for another hour or two," he said. "You need some rest since you were up with her quite a bit last night."

"So were you, Booth," she contested. "Every time I was up with her, you were as well so you are just as tired as I am."

"I'm just fine," he assured her, laughing a little. "I was in the Army…you get used to little to no sleep and waking up at bizarre hours."

"Okay, if you insist," she finally conceded, gently transferring the tiny body in her arms to Booth's. "If she gets hungry, please come wake me."

"I promise I will," he said, looking at her with honest eyes.

Stepping onto her tip-toes, she kissed his cheek and smiled. "Thank you."

With those words, Brennan walked into their bedroom and found a set of clean clothes and undergarments from her drawer before slipping into the bathroom. She turned on the shower and got in after stripping from her night clothes, feeling the hot water rush over her back and down her tired and sore body. As she stood there, she couldn't remember the last time she took a shower because of her days and nights blurring together. Caring for an infant definitely put her priorities in the back seat, but she didn't mind because Emily was so beautiful and difficult not to love. Her mind was still wrapping around the fact that she was a mother. She had brought another life into the world. A little girl that looked like a perfect blend of her own features and Booth's. She could hardly wait to teach her all the little things about science that her own dad had taught her and to see her daughter's eyes light up. Most of all, she couldn't wait to see how much like Booth Emily would turn out to be.

After finishing up her shower, Brennan turned off the water and stepped out, wrapping a towel around her. She dried off and slipped on her undergarments, a pair of pajama bottoms, and one of Booth's t-shirts to fit over her post-pregnancy belly. Admittedly, she liked the feel of his t-shirts against her skin and even after washing them, they still smelt like him. Her belly had deflated some after Emily was born and would continue until about six weeks after birth, but she knew the rest was mostly baby weight she would have to work off later. The weight gain was worth it though and she had a feeling she would be able to work it off just fine between her job, eating right, and physical activity with and without Booth. She smirked at the thought of that last part, knowing they would be able to resume their physical relationship when she had her physical in just a month. Part of her had missed that a lot, especially since the last few weeks of her pregnancy had been about keeping her healthy rather than sex, but she knew that they would be intimate again soon enough once she was feeling up to it.

She dried her hair with a towel before going back to their bedroom, pulling back the covers on her side of the bed and slipping in. When she didn't hear any crying from the next room, she relaxed and shut her eyes before drifting to sleep. Sleep came quickly and consumed her, giving her a pleasant dream about the future. She dreamt of Emily years from now. A beautiful little girl with dark curls and bright cerulean eyes with a beautiful smile that could break your heart in two seconds. She and Booth were together in a park with Emily and Parker, having a family outing. Parker was sixteen and Emily was five, but they were playing together on the playground. Parker was teaching his little sister how to do the monkey bars while she and Booth watched on proudly. They were a happy little family together. It was one of the best dreams Brennan had had in a long while.

When she woke, she glanced at the clock and saw that it was just a little over an hour and a half later. She felt a lot more rested and crept from the bed out of the bedroom to the nursery, peeking in to check on Booth and the baby. Her heart melted at the sight her eyes witnessed. Booth was sitting in the rocking chair with his feet propped up on the ottoman. Emily was curled up on his chest with a blanket wrapped around her like a cocoon. Both were fast asleep and Booth was lightly snoring. It was the single most beautiful moment she had ever seen. She leaned against the door frame for a few moments, just content to watch before going back to their bedroom to grab her phone. Sneaking back in, she got a little closer and snapped a picture. It seemed like the most logical thing to do since she wanted to remember that moment forever. When she was finished, she sent a copy to Angela, who she knew would appreciate that moment just the same as she had before putting her phone away. Walking over, she gently lifted Emily from Booth's chest into her arms, knowing it was time to wake her up to eat.

Sneaking back to their bedroom, she grabbed her nursing pillow before settling on the bed with the baby. Emily was waking up slowly, making little squeaking noises as she flailed her little hands around impatiently. Lifting her shirt, she helped Emily latch on to her breast to nurse before leaning back with the baby in her arms. Emily was wide awake now and hungry, so she was content to be right in her mommy's arms eating. Brennan sighed and brushed her daughter's cheek gently. This was one of those quiet moments she enjoyed when it was just her and Emily. The house was still and Booth was asleep in the next room since she didn't have the heart to disturb him. So she just laid on the bed with Emily, watching her as she greedily sucked away, in awe of her child. Every part of her rationally knew how this little being came to be, but a small part wondered how she could wind up so happy with a family after being abandoned by her own when she was fifteen. She and Booth were a family now and she was enjoying every moment she could soak in, anticipating more happiness in the future as Emily continued to grow up.

**

* * *

A/N: A little bit of mommy/baby fluffiness to show the softer side of Brennan now that she is a mommy :) Today is October 11...guess what day that is! Emily Deschanel's BIRTHDAY! So, in honor of her, I posted this chapter of cuteness. Thank you all so much for the reviews and please keep them coming. I appreciate them so much!**


	13. Best Friends

"Bren Marie," Angela said exasperatedly, going over to the giggling ten-month-old sitting on the floor with her blocks dumped all around her from the box they had been in previously. The dark-haired little girl seemed all too pleased with her mess, clapping her hands gleefully as Angela came and picked up the mess. "You are entirely your father's daughter, making messes everywhere. I dread the day your daddy lets you start trying experiments at home."

Angela laughed and picked up her daughter from the floor, placing her on her hip and carrying her over to the couch to sit down with her. The little girl smiled and pressed her hand to her mother's cheek, as if she knew that she was being cute and funny. She definitely had Hodgins' smile, which only melted Angela's heart all the more since Bren looked so much like her already and she wanted their daughter to have some of his features as well. Her eyes were turning darker as she got older, which saddened Angela since she loved Hodgins' blue eyes, but their daughter was beautiful regardless of her eye color. She was only happy that Bren was healthy, happy, and growing every day. That was all that really mattered to Angela. Bren's first birthday was coming up as well, on October fourteenth, meaning she had a birthday party to plan as well. Everything about her life had changed in the last two years, but she was enjoying every moment of it.

As she sat there with Bren in her lap, holding a toy for her to play with, she heard a knock at her door and looked up to see Brennan standing there. She had little Emily in her arms, wrapped in a blanket, with a smile on her face as she came into Angela's office. It had been a while since Angela had seen either of them and Emily was now just over six-weeks-old.

"Hey sweetie," she greeted happily, scooting over to make room for Brennan to sit next to her, while holding Bren in her lap. "Look who's here sweetheart. It's Auntie Brennan and Emily."

Bren giggled and clapped her hands, causing Brennan to smile as she sat down. "Hi Bren," Brennan greeted gently before turning her attention to Angela. "I thought we might stop by to visit since we were already up here."

"Were you just visiting everyone at the lab?" Angela asked, wondering if Brennan was planning on coming back to work so soon after having Emily.

"I was talking to Cam about my maternity leave," Brennan answered, gently shifting the sleeping Emily in her arms to lay her against her shoulder as she leaned back against the couch. "I told her I wanted to take two more weeks since Booth and I are still adjusting to parenthood. She agreed, but I knew she would. I am the best forensic anthropologist, so there was not much room for her to argue."

Angela laughed and shook her head, pulling Bren to a standing position in her lap. "I'm sure she would have given you the time anyways. She knows what it's like to be a parent, even if she didn't have Michelle as a baby. Plus she gave me a little extra time, even though I hadn't been working in months because of my hospitalization."

"You also had a cesarean as well, which takes time to heal," Brennan pointed out.

"Yeah, it was not a fun recovery," she agreed, shaking her head and kissing her daughter's cheek. "But it was worth it. How is everything with Emily?"

"It's going well," Brennan replied, smiling and looking down at the infant in her arms. "I'm becoming more accustomed to the lack of sleep and constant crying at odd hours of the night."

"Oh believe me, when she starts sleeping through the night…you and Booth will not remember what a whole night's sleep feels like," Angela said, laughing. "It'll be weird going back to sleeping more."

Brennan laughed. "I do believe you. Booth is accustomed to less sleep because of his Army experience, so he claims it doesn't bother him as much," she went on. "But I think he just says that for my benefit."

"Most men do," Angela replied, smirking. Hodgins had done the same thing, saying he didn't mind the lack of sleep, but those early days when Bren was up every three hours to nurse killed both of them. Even though she was the only one feeding the baby, he would take over burping and changing her. She did not miss waking up at all hours of the night now that Bren was sleeping over seven hours at a time. "Are you still nursing?"

Looking up, Brennan nodded. "I plan to exclusively breastfeed until she's at least six-months-old, then pump until she's a year," she explained, tracing a finger across her daughter's head gently as she slept.

"That's what I've been doing for Bren," Angela said. "But we've recently added a few little things to introduce her to solid foods, like some rice cereal mixed in her bottles, but nothing too serious until after her first birthday."

Brennan nodded and smiled. "Booth is glad that I chose to breastfeed since it is better for Emily," she said, looking to Angela.

Angela nodded. "Hodgins was too. But now that I pump, he's able to feed her with the bottles of my milk, which makes it a little easier on me. Plus he likes the bonding time with Bren." Angela knew that Hodgins had always been slightly jealous of her ability to feed their daughter when he couldn't be a part of that process directly. However, he had encouraged her and supported her through nursing their daughter, becoming part of the process by sitting with Angela during feedings and burping Bren afterward.  
"I know that Booth would like to be more involved in the process, even though I told him it wasn't really necessary," Brennan said. "But I promised him I would wake him up when Emily was awake so he could at least change her after she was fed."  
"He's a good daddy," Angela replied, smiling and bouncing Bren in her lap, who was impatiently babbling along.

Angela and Brennan talked for a while longer before Brennan decided it was best she head home since Emily was getting fussy. After her best friend left, Angela finished up a sketch while Bren played on the floor with her toys, crawling around under Angela's watchful eye. Bren had gotten so big over the last ten months since she was born that it was unreal to Angela. Her little girl was literally growing right in front of her eyes and she felt so priviledged to be a part of that. And now that Brennan was a mother too, they could share in their daughters' lives as they grew. It was going to be something Angela enjoyed. Being a mother had it's rewards and obstacles, but overall it was the best experience she had ever gone through.

* * *

**A/N: I'm SO sorry I haven't updated this in like a month! My laptop crashed and I had to buy a new one, so I know this chapter is REALLY short, but I promise that now that I have a new one I'll be able to write more! Reviews are greatly appreciated! Much love to all my reviewers/readers!**


	14. Precious Gift

Booth woke with a start, looking over at Brennan, who was still sleeping in their bed. He had been dreaming of losing her again and losing Emily to the Grave-Digger, just like he had before their daughter was born. It was the most terrifying experience in his life that he never wanted to repeat again, ever. But the thought lingered in the back of his mind, sending a chill down his spine, about other people that might have it out for him or Brennan. Working for the FBI didn't exactly make Booth a criminal's favorite person, so he knew that a lot of people had it out for him that were rotting in prison. He just prayed to God that those people would stay in jail where they belonged and never got out like the Grave-Digger had. If anything ever happened to Emily or Brennan or Parker, his world would be over.

Sitting up, he put his feet on the floor and heard Emily beginning to stir in her bassinet. She was just over two-months-old now and getting stronger every day it seemed. Getting up, he walked over and picked her up, cradling her to his chest and walking into the nursery so not to wake Brennan. She was exhausted from feedings every four hours, so she deserved some sleep while Booth had a little bit of bonding time with Emily. Even though he had gone through parenting a newborn baby once before, having a little girl was a different experience. Parker was a fussy baby all the time and had colic starting when he was about six-weeks-old, but Emily was usually a content and mellow baby. She liked being held by him and Bones and talked to. But one thing she loved that no one else knew about but him was when he sang "What A Wonderful World" by Louis Armstrong to her. It was a father and daughter thing he had started by accident when she was about three-days-old and was crying inconsolably. He started singing the first song that came to his mind and it worked.

"I see trees of green, red roses too  
I see them bloom for me and you  
And I think to myself, what a wonderful world

I see skies of blue and clouds of white  
The bright blessed day, the dark sacred night  
And I think to myself, what a wonderful world"

Booth sang softly and swayed around the room with Emily in his arms. She was calm now, with her eyes open and focused on him. They were still that beautiful blue that he loved so much as it reminded him of the one who had given him this precious little girl. He had hoped that Emily would keep her eye color and had been granted his wish. She was absolutely perfect in every way and looked so much like Bones. As he swayed around the room, he thought of how blessed he was at this point in his life. He didn't think he would be a father again, much less have the woman he loved with all of his heart be the mother of that child. That was a blessing he had not seen coming, but was thankful for each and every day. Emily stirred a little in his arms, but was otherwise content as they swayed around the room.

When he looked up, he was surprised to see Bones standing at the door, leaning against the doorframe. She was watching the two of them with a smile on her face, like she had been there for a little while. Booth kissed the top of Emily's head and didn't jerk his motions at all, knowing it would disurb the little one in his arms. Instead, he calmly made his way over to Bones.

"How long have you been standing there?" he asked, smiling at her.

"Not too long," she replied, looking down at the baby in his arms. "I woke when I didn't feel you next to me in bed. Your singing carries to the bedroom."

He smiled sheepishly. "It keeps her calm. She seems to like it a lot."

"Infants recognize voice patterns early in life, so she most likely knows your voice," Bones explained in a sweet tone of voice, gently tracing her finger along their daughter's cheek.

Booth chuckled a little. "Guess we were just having daddy/daughter time this morning," he said, looking to Bones. "I didn't want to wake you unless it was absolutely necessary."

"Thank you," she said, stepping closer to them and leaning up to kiss his cheek. "I do appreciate what extra sleep I can get with a baby in the house."

"You're welcome. Just doing what I can to help," he said.

"You're a good father Booth. You take good care of me and Emily."

Before Booth could reply, Emily started to stir in his arms and scrunched her face in a familiar pattern that both he and Bones knew. A moment later, she cried out and completely tensed her body against him. Emily was a very impatient child when it came to being fed. When she decided she was hungry, it was over. Someone had better give her a nipple right then and there otherwise it was sure to be hell. Chuckling a little, he handed over their daughter to Bones. As she took the baby, she went over to the rocking chair in the corner of the nursery and sat down with a pillow in her lap. Booth watched as she unbuttoned her shirt and exposed her breast to Emily, getting her to latch on without difficulty. When Emily was content and nursing, Booth watched as Bones gently rocked back and forth in the chair, humming a soft lullaby to their daughter as she nursed. The sight made him smile. His girls. He loved them both with every fiber of his being and didn't know what he would do without either one of them.

Quietly approaching the scene, he knelt next to Bones and looked into her eyes as she looked at him contentedly. The beautiful cerulean color he so adored was bright against her ivory skin and morning hair, but she was as beautiful as ever to him. There was something about her now that radiated even more beauty that he noticed since they brought Emily home from the hospital. She was completely in love with their child and motherhood, which Booth knew would happen because he knew her so well. Most people thought she was a cold fish, but he knew better than anyone that she wasn't. She was kind and giving in ways that people didn't see. They didn't see the tenderness in which she cared for their newborn daughter, how she carefully bathed her, clothed her, and held her in her arms each and every day. Nor did they see how happy she was just watching Emily sleep in her bassinet. No one really saw those things but him, but he was proud and felt priviledged to see them.

"She looks more and more like you every day," he said quietly, smiling at her.

Bones shook her head a little and smiled, looking down at the nursing child in her arms. "I believe she has your dark hair. And your chin."

Chuckling, he replied, "That she does, but I'm glad she has your eyes."

"Why do you say that?" Bones asked in reply, looking back at him curiously.

"Because it was one of the first things I noticed about you when we first met," he said. There was so much truth there. Bones' eyes were the first thing that caught his attention when they met all those years ago. He was drawn to how beautiful they were. Later he learned that he could read a lot into her emotions through her eyes. When they were bright, he knew she was happy or that she had found something important. The darker they were, the more frustrated or upset she was.

Instead of replying, Bones smiled at him and returned her gaze to their daughter, tracing her hand with her finger gently. Parenthood had changed them both, but in ways that were for the better in Booth's mind. He had seen a whole other side of Bones that he had not seen before, except briefly when they cared for a baby named Andy during a case. But now that he saw it all the time, it cemented in his mind how much he loved this woman. She had given him the greatest gift in life through their child and he could never thank her enough for that. He had never been happier before now. Even though he had been a new father once before, he had not been really allowed to be a part of everything the way he was with Emily. That was something he treasured and would never forget for the rest of his life. Every part of his daughter's life he would get to be a part of because Bones had not shut him out the way Rebecca had before Parker was born.

When Emily was finished eating and content again after being burped, Bones stood from the rocking chair and placed Emily in her crib. Booth rose and watched, knowing that Emily was down for a few hours now. The house would be quiet and peaceful again. Once Emily was tucked in, he watched as Bones turned around and faced him with a serene smile on her face, walking over and placing her hands on his chest. Booth kissed her forehead and wrapped his arms around her. They were both exhausted, but happier than ever.

"Booth...I want to be married," she said, breaking the calm silence between them.

**

* * *

A/N: Please, please don't hate me for ending it on this cliffhanger. I had to for a reason! Leave reviews and I'll post the next chapter as fast as I can!**


	15. His Answer

Brennan looked at Booth in all seriousness, the words having left her mouth just seconds prior that she wanted to be married. She knew that his alpha-male tendencies would not appreciate being practically proposed to, but she felt that it was the right time to bring it up. They were happy and had been together for over a year; the longest relationship that Brennan had been in with anyone. And that did not count the years they spent together simply as partners. Though she denied it over and over again, she knew that she loved Booth long ago and would do anything for him. He was her partner and understood her better than anyone ever had before. They had brought a child into the world together the right way and she was thankful for the beautiful life they had made. Emily was the perfect little girl.

"You want to get married?" he asked, looking into her eyes. "I thought you didn't believe in marriage Bones."

"I didn't," she replied, keeping her hands on his chest. "But then you happened. And you were so sure about marriage and being with someone for the rest of your life. Yet, you never once pressured me after we started our relationship. You respected my views and showed me that love existed beyond what I initially thought."

"You know that I want to be married to you...I always have," he said, giving her a warm smile. "But would you consider allowing me to propose to you...the right way?"

"Yes, of course," she said, laughing softly. "I would never deny you that moment Booth. I know that it is special to you and admittedly, would be special to me. But this is me telling you that I want it just as you do. Whenever you wish to propose to me is your choice."

"I love you Temperance Brennan. I always will." Leaning down, Booth pulled Brennan into a kiss that she melted into, feeling her body against his. Though she still had a baby bump resting on her abdomen, she still fit perfectly into his arms. She didn't know how that was possible, but didn't deny that it felt wonderful to her.

"I love you too, Booth," she whispered, placing her hand on his cheek as their kiss ended. "You have given me so much in our relationship and in our child and I wanted to give you something back. I want to give you all of myself. I want to bind myself to you in the last physical way we have not."

Booth nodded and smiled. Without hesitation, he swept her off her feet into his arms, cradling her against him. Brennan, taken by surprise, wrapped her arms around his neck and smiled as he walked them back to their bedroom. Emily would be sleeping for at least three hours, leaving them time to spend together intimately. Even though Brennan had been cleared for sex two weeks prior at her post-delivery check-up, both of them had been so exhausted with caring for a newborn that they hadn't had the energy for sex. But today was different. Brennan could feel how much she wanted and needed him. She craved the closeness they once shared before Emily was born.

Once in their bedroom, Booth laid her on the bed and joined her. His lips found her neck, trailing soft kisses up to behind her ear. Brennan smiled and moved her neck to allow him more access to the sensitive skin there, smiling as his lips whispered sweet things into her ear. She had missed the intimacy that they had shared before giving birth to a child and wanted that attention more than anything now. Reaching her hands down, she moved her hands under his shirt and pushed it over his head to get it off him to reveal the muscled chest beneath. The scar from where he had taken a bullet for her was still there as she traced over it with her fingers gingerly, realizing just how much he had given her over the years. He had stepped in the line of danger and risked his life more than once to save hers, waited patiently for her to realize how much she loved him, and given her a life that she once never dreamed of having.

Eagerly, he returned the kisses she gave him and unbuttoned her nightshirt before discarding it on the floor and pulling her close to him. Since it was still morning, Brennan was not wearing anything under her shirt and shivered at the sensation of his bare skin against hers. His muscles against her soft skin felt heavenly as he leaned in and kissed her neck. Without thinking about it, her hands traced down his arms to his sides and further to his shorts. Inching her fingers to the inside of the waistband of both his shorts and boxers, she nudged them down as he continued to lay tender kisses along her neck. Brennan didn't hesitate in pushing them both all the way off and grabbing onto his behind, causing Booth to momentarily pause his kissing and move to straddle her hips, throwing his shorts and boxers completely off to the side of the bed somewhere she didn't care to pay attention to. As his lips resumed their war on her skin, Brennan arched into his touch and felt his hands travel down her bare sides to the tops of her panties. Lifting her hips, she felt him slide them down her legs and remove them entirely.

Their lovemaking was so intense and intimate that when they came, Brennan didn't want Booth to move from on top of her. Holding him against her, she felt his hot skin against hers and welcomed the comfort of his weight on top of her. During the last weeks of her pregnancy and over the last eight weeks since Emily's birth, they had not been able to get this close physically, so it was like a miracle now that it had happened. For Brennan, it felt like the very first time they made love. That night would forever be ingrained in her mind because they had waited to take that step until she was ready. Even though they had already had sex and been in a relationship for a few weeks, the first time they truly made love was different than any other experience Brennan had ever had. She loved him. There was no doubting that now or ever again. When she had come down from the heights of her orgasm, she looked into his eyes and smiled softly.

"I missed you," she said, breathing in his scent as she moved her hands behind his head into his hair.

"I missed you too," he replied, smiling at her. "So much."

"Having Emily was worth it though. More than worth it." Brennan knew that if she had to do it all over again, she would. Their daughter meant the world to her in ways that she didn't think was possible. She didn't believe in love at first sight until she laid eyes on her child that day in the back of the SUV when she gave birth.

Booth nodded in agreement. "You're both my girls," he said, leaning in and kissing her.

Brennan kissed him back and brushed his cheek with her hand. "I understand what Angela was telling me all those years ago," she said, smiling at him. "About family and about opening up to someone."

"I knew you would eventually, when you were ready." Booth's warm eyes were kind and gentle to her. She had always found an odd sense of comfort when she looked in his eyes after being scared or upset about something, but now even when she was happy they still held that same effect.

"You are my family Booth. You and Emily are the family I feared I would never have," she admitted honestly. "People said I was cold and cut off from people, but you saw through that all the time and brought me into the world where I was able to break out of the protective shell I encased myself in for years."

"I knew, right from the start, that you were not a cold fish or whatever people called you," he said. "All you needed was someone to believe in you and I did because you are worth that and so much more."

Leaning up, she kissed Booth after a moment. Brennan smiled into the kiss and reluctantly let him roll off her. Curling into his side, she rested her head on his bare chest and felt the exhaustion kick in. Taking care of a newborn baby was no easy task, but it was well worth it when she looked into the eyes of her daughter and knew that Emily was created from herself and Booth. A tiny being that was proof of their love. As sleep overcame her, she knew that she would sleep well for the first time in eight weeks. Her life was complete with a child, a career, and a man she loved more than life itself who returned that love just as deeply.

**

* * *

A/N: I apologize for the lack of long updates lately...I'm right at the end of my semester for school so I have finals to focus on. However, I wanted to give you guys an update to read. More to come soon! Please review!**


	16. Routine Life

A couple weeks passed after Brennan asked Booth to marry her and life settled into a distinct pattern of familiarity that Brennan loved. She would wake up every morning and nurse Emily in the dim light of the sunrise, feeling her daughter's warm skin against hers. Her daughter was growing every day it seemed, but she still fit perfectly in her arms. Even though it didn't make sense in any scientific, it felt as though she was growing herself to accommodate the little girl. But Brennan loved it because it provided closeness between Emily and herself. It was their own mommy/daughter time while Booth slept in a little longer and Brennan would have it no other way. In the quiet of their home, she found moments of peace where she admired the child in her arms and could see Booth in their daughter. She had his nose and beautiful smile that she loved. Her eyes were still pristine blue, but Brennan knew that newborns all had blue eyes for the first couple of months and Emily's could very well change to brown like her father.

One such morning, Brennan sat in their bed, rocking Emily as she nursed. Booth lay asleep next to them, which was normal since it wasn't yet six. Soon enough, he would be awake and they would shower before getting ready for work. Emily was now just over three-months-old, so Brennan had gone back to work full force, but Emily was right there with her at the office. Being a working mother wasn't easy, but with Booth's help and a lot of patience from everyone, she was doing it just fine. Angela also brought little Bren up to work as well, just as she'd done since she was a newborn. Having two little girls to keep an eye on certainly made things interesting, especially since Bren was a crawler and liked to get into everything. However, it made the atmosphere of dealing with death everyday at work a lot lighter. Seeing her baby so lively and happy made Brennan remember why she did what she did. To give the victims' loved ones peace about what happened. It was a soft appeal for someone like Temperance Brennan, who had been all about the science until she met Booth, but the reasoning made sense. To give someone closure about a death was common in a lot of societies, even ones that she'd studied in third world countries. The work she and Booth did gave them that closure.

She hummed softly as Emily nursed, content with the world and how it's silence was like music to her ears in that moment. Booth stirred next to her, rolling over and opening his eyes to them.

"Good morning," he said, his voice still heavy with sleep.

"Morning," she replied softly, leaning over to kiss his forehead. In the past year and months since she and Booth started dating, Brennan had let herself relax more and become more intimate with him. Not just in the physical act of making love, but also in the little things like kissing and touching one another, like when he brushed her cheek after she had been upset with him. Those were things that she had never experienced before Booth and kept herself closed off to because she didn't see the point or meaning in them. But now she did.

"How are my two favorite girls this morning?" he asked, sitting up and kissing Emily's head as she ate. It never ceased to amaze her how gentle and sweet he was with their daughter. A man as big as Booth was and that had seen as many horrible things as he'd did over his time in the military and in the FBI shouldn't logically be this gentle, but he was and that is what set him apart from every other male. While he was the alpha-male, he was _her_ alpha male, providing and protecting for them in his own ways.

"We're both doing very well," she replied, smiling at him. He leaned in and kissed her lips once, smiling back at her in his goofy half-grin that she loved so much. Over the time they had been together as partners and lived together as significant others, Brennan had picked out her favorite things about Booth. She loved the way he smelled after taking a shower, the way he smiled when he was happy about something, when he would cook for her, how he would valiantly take baby duty so she could have a few more hours of sleep, how he felt perfectly against her as he held her in his arms while they slept, and the list went on and on in her significantly over-indulgent mind. She loved him. Every part of him, even down to his flaws.

"She is getting so big," he said, nodding to their daughter in her arms. Emily was sucking away, holding her hand against Brennan's chest. It was one of the sweeter moments in the Brennan-Booth household that they enjoyed. Quiet was never something that was often around the house with a newborn, so they took what they could.

Brennan nodded and smiled. "The pediatrician says she is right on target for growth," she replied in a matter-of-fact tone. "But it does seem like she's growing so much lately. I don't want her to grow up too fast..."

"It happens that way," he said, laughing softly. "I thought Parker was growing too fast and now he's eleven. It hardly seems real sometimes that he was once as small as Emily, but then I see the pictures of him and know he was."

"Parker has grown up into a wonderful young man, just like his father," Brennan added, smiling at him. When Emily was done, she let Booth take her from her arms to burp her before changing her diaper. Brennan got up from their bed and walked into the closet to choose something to wear for work. She still had not lost all of the baby weight she'd gained during pregnancy, but she was confident that with exercise and eating a good diet, she would be down to her pre-pregnancy size within the next couple of months.

When Booth was done, he laid Emily in her bouncer while he dressed for the day too. They had their routine down to an art now and Brennan was happy with how their mornings started off. Once they were both dressed, she moved to the kitchen with Emily, who was also dressed for the day too before making herself and Booth something to eat, including his usual black coffee. Since she was still breastfeeding, caffeine was nixed for the time being, so she found some juice in the fridge to put in a glass. They ate breakfast and chatted about some of the case loads they were about to take on, including some new remains from India that would be arriving at the Jeffersonian within the week for Brennan to look at and identify what time period they came from. As they talked, both of their phones went off.

"Booth."

"Brennan."

On either end of their phones were their bosses, informing them that their priorities for the time being were now being shifted for work. There was a body found in a sewer on the outskirts of DC that needed to be identified and determined whether or not it was a murder or freak accident. After jumbling around the schedule for the day, they immediately made their way to the Jeffersonian to drop off Emily with Angela and Bren so they could go out to the scene. Brennan was finally to the point where she was comfortable leaving their child for more than just a couple minutes with someone else she trusted, like Angela. After leaving the Jeffersonian, she and Booth made it out to the scene in about twenty minutes, parking on the outskirts of town near the sewage system. Booth was immediately disgusted by the smell, but it didn't phase Brennan as she went to meet Cam. But, despite being an impartial scientist in the past, Brennan wasn't prepared for what she would see.

* * *

**A/N: I am SO sorry I haven't updated this in forever! School swamped me, but we're nearing the end of my semester! Thank you to all the sweet reviews so far and please keep them coming!**


End file.
